Adversity
by attackofthenight
Summary: It's revealed that the Huns have been using spies to get information on the Chinese army for decades. Not to mention, they're sending a second wave of soldiers to China! How will Mulan and Shang find out who the traitors are, while also preparing for battle? Who will make a surprise appearance? And, how will Mulan and Shang deal with their own feelings? (Won't be finished, sorry)
1. You fight good

**Adversity**

* * *

What happened after the words "You fight good"? How did Mulan and Shang's relationship even begin, and where does it end up? (NOT following the events of the sequel)

Hello, this is my first fanfiction, and I simply just ran out of fics to read, so I thought I could just write my own! My plans for this story are to make it rather long, but it may take a while to get it done.

**Disclaimer

I do not own Mulan, nor the characters in the movie

* * *

Chapter one: You fight good

* * *

Shang stood, looking out over the crowd of at least 35,000 people surrounding the palace. Though there were so many people, he could only focus on one. However, she wouldn't know it. He watched as she kicked her horse and started the journey back to her home and let out a longing sigh, swearing under his breath. _'How can I manage to be at such a lost cause with her,'_ he asked himself, _'she's saved my life multiple times and all I can manage to say are three words that don't even fit together in a sentence?_ '

His thoughts were soon interrupted by a presence next to him. He looked to his side as the elder man spoke with eloquence. "The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all."

Shang still couldn't gather his thoughts, not even in the presence of the emperor, when it was most important. He shook his head slightly and looked back at his superior. "Sir?"

The emperor gave him a dissatisfied look and proceeded, "You don't meet a girl like _that_ every dynasty." The elderly man then put on his cap, gave Shang a look, and entered his palace, leaving Shang to decide what to do on his own. Once again, Shang's thoughts were interrupted by three concubines who started to laugh at him.

" _'You fight good,'_ captain? Is that the best you could do?" asked Ling. "I mean, she saved us multiple times! We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for her!"

Shang shifted uncomfortably. "I know she did, it's just-"

"She came back even _after_ you left her in the mountains!" Interrupted the quiet Chien-Po.

"Yes, but-"

"Not to mention she killed Shan Yu with a huge gash in her stomach." Said Yao, smirking at Shang. However, his expression changed to a horrified one in the blink of an eye once he heard what Shang had to say next.

"I _KNOW_!" He snapped, looking at the three of them in annoyance. He sighed, however, and looked down at his feet. "I-I'm just... Not so great when it comes to... _women_."

The three stared in disbelief for a moment before starting to snicker to themselves, which erupted into uncontrollable laughter, and the three doubling over and clutching to one another to be able to stand.

"Y-You mean to tell me," Ling started, taking a short break to laugh, "that the _oh-so-strong, impressive, and masculine_ general has problems with talking to women?!" This only made the three laugh even harder, and Shang's face turn redder.

Scoffing, Shang looked to the side. "It isn't funny. I mean, what about you guys? It's not like you three could be good at it either!"

"Maybe not," said Yao, "but we don't have the pretty-boy reputation to keep up, _captain_."

Shang punched his side, causing Yao to stop laughing and rub his arm.

"Alright, alright, _pretty-boy_. Why don't you just go follow her, then?"

Shang rolled his eyes at Yao, scoffing and glancing to the side before facing Yao once again. "And say what, exactly? 'I'm sorry for abandoning you in the mountains, doubting you, and telling you you don't belong, _I love you_?'"

The gang of three exchanged glances before looking back at Shang. "Why don't you come up with an excuse to be there so you don't sound _as_ pathetic?" Asked Ling. Shang only growled at this.

Churn Po looked around, before taking a few steps away from the group and picking up Mulan's deserted helmet and giving it to Shang. "You could say you are returning her armor, captain."

Shang hesitantly took her helmet in his hands, looking down at it. He looked back up at Ling, Yao, and Chien-Po and smiled. It was decided that he would take her armor to her, and hopefully try to get some time to talk to her in private while he was there. Shang was off soon enough, with her armor in his saddlebags, eager as ever to be able to see her once again.

* * *

Once the sun set over the mountains, and the woman-warrior could no longer see where she was going, she stopped Khan and went inside of an inn, carrying the clothing she had for the night. _'Thank the Gods I still have some extra coins with me...'_ she thought as she walked inside. As she looked around, she noticed that the room had gone silent upon her arrival. Some people were staring at her with a smile, some even bowed, but of course, there were also a few people looking at her with disapproval. ' _Looks like news travels fast,'_ she thought as she quickly paid the inn keeper. He greeted her with a smile and a bow, and sent her on her way to her room. Once she got inside, she sighed, happy to be able to finally rest for a little bit. She bathed and changed into her dirty night clothes that she wore at camp, and fell asleep with thoughts of what the next day would bring for her in her head. Little did she know, a young captain had entered the inn just after she fell asleep.

* * *

Shang sighed in relief, having finally found an inn along the way to Mulan's house. As he went to put his horse into the stables, however, he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of a familiar black horse. Khan. The stallion started to whinny at the sight of Shang, which caused the captain to panic. He quickly and quietly attempted to quiet down the horse, and when he finally did, he tied up his own horse and quickly left the stables. He looked through a window at the inn, and was relieved to not see Mulan inside of the main room. Of course, he couldn't wait to see her, but he didn't even know what to say to her yet. He couldn't tell her now, he needed more time to think about how to approach her after everything they've been through in the last twenty-four hours. He quickly slipped into his room and fell asleep trying to think of what to say to her the next day.

* * *

Mulan woke up early, much to her dismay, changed into her dress, and headed down to the main room to bid the inn keeper a final farewell.

"You are welcome here anytime, heroine of China." He gave her a warm, fatherly smile as she left the inn and went around the corner to the stables. As she got Khan, she opened her saddlebags to put her night clothing inside. However, when she did, she noticed a sleeping Mushu and lucky cricket, and smirked to herself as she put the clothing on top of them. She closed her back and untied Khan, hopping up on his back and giving him a kick, sending them off without her even noticing the white stallion in the stall next to Khan's.

As the villages, people, and landscape started to get more and more familiar as she neared her home, she was suddenly struck by fear and nervousness. _'What are my parents going to say to me?'_ She thought, as she remembered the final conversation she had with her father, in which he got angry at her for 'not knowing her place.' She sighed. Though she had the sword, the Emperor's Crest, and the honor of having saved China multiple times, she still couldn't picture her parents being anything but angry at her. However, once she entered her own village around noon, the idea that she was home started to sink in. Though she was mortified of what her parents would say once she arrived home, she was beside herself happy to be back. She slowed Khan once she saw the gates to her home. "This is it..." She whispered under her breath. She took her sword and her pendant from the emperor, passed the gate, and tied Khan up inside of the stables at her home. She walked past the house and heard a gasp from her mother. Mulan went to the front of the house to see her mother and grandmother burst out of the front door. The older women stopped and stared at her, and Mulan felt the butterflies rise in her stomach. She ran to greet her family members, who happily accepted her embrace.

"Mama, grandma..." Said Mulan, a smile on her face as she hugged them. Her mother broke the hug and smiled at her daughter, starting to tear up at the sight of her.

"Mulan," She whispered, smiling widely, "are you okay? Is everything alright? Is... Are..." Her mother couldn't even speak. Her grandmother decided to speak up and smiled at Mulan.

"It's great to have you back, Mulan. You should go check up on your father, though, he's been seeming lost without you here!" The elderly woman pointed to a man sitting on the bench under the magnolia tree. Mulan took a deep breath and walked towards her father, her mother and grandmother waiting in the entryway. Once she stood in front of him, he looked up at her, looking astonished.

" _Mulan..."_ He whispered loudly. Mulan fell to her knees and looked down. "Father... I have brought you the sword of Shan Yu," she handed him the sword without looking at her, and he placed it to his side, still staring at her in awe as she continued. "...And the Crest of the Emperor," she said, handing him that as well, "...They're gifts! To honor the Fa family..." She looked up at him, puzzled as he took the rewards and placed the on the ground. She was surprised when her father got on his knees and hugged her tight, speaking softly as he put a hand on her cheek.

"The greatest gift and honor is having _you_ for a daughter. I've missed you so..." This caused a tear to fall from the girl's eye, and she hugged him tighter than before. "I missed you, too, Baba."

The two stayed there, wrapped in each other's arms, unaware that Mulan's grandmother had started to talk to Fa Li.

" _Great,"_ she said, rolling her eyes, "she brings home a sword. If you ask me, she should have brought home a ma-!"

* * *

Shang had left the inn early that morning, noting that Khan was already gone from the stables. On his journey to her home, he had to ask around in various villages for directions to the Fa household. He finally got there and opened the gates quietly. He saw Khan in the stables, and decided to put his horse there, for the time being. He stood behind two women, helmet in hand, and watched Mulan reunite with her father. He smiled, though he felt a little bit of jealousy, because he missed his father, and because he wished to have her in his arms. Once he thought that the older woman was done making remarks to the younger one, Shang cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Excuse me," the ladies were surprised to hear another voice, and looked back at him and stared in awe as he continued. "Does Fa Mulan live here?" The women pointed to a magnolia tree, where he noticed Fa Zhou sitting. "Thank you." Shang was walking away when he heard the lively old woman speak.

"Woo, sign me up for the next war!"

Shang simply dismissed the comment and walked up to Fa Zhou, who stood in Shang's presence.

"Honorable Fa Zhou, I-" Shang stopped once he saw Mulan behind her father. His heart rate increased and he felt his stomach drop as he forgot everything he planned to say as he saw her. He suddenly realized that he hadn't even finished his sentence and spoke once again.

"Mulan! Uh... You forgot your helmet!" He exclaimed, and then turned to Fa Zhou. "Well, actually, it's your helmet, isn't it, I mean-" Shang gave up and looked down a little bit, but was luckily saved from more embarrassment when the smaller figure took her helmet from his hands and smiled at him.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Flustered, he managed to get four words out of his system. "Dinner would be great."

* * *

Well, that's the end of the first chapter! Yes, I know, it's pretty much just covering the end of the movie, but I have a whole story planned! Anyways, please review, if you liked it, disliked it, whatever! Thanks :)


	2. Dinner

Hey! I was completely motivated to upload a new chapter because a lot of people apparently read the first one! Well, not a lot, but it definitely felt like a lot, haha. Anyways, here's chapter two!

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Mulan :(

* * *

Chapter 2: Dinner

* * *

Shang and Mulan grinned at each other after he accepted her invitation to stay for dinner. The silence was disrupted, however, when a feisty old woman cleared her throat behind the captain. The two looked behind Shang and saw Mulan's family members looking at them. Fa Zhou looked to be sizing Shang up, Fa Li looked disapproving, however Mulan's grandmother had a smug expression on her face as she spoke up.

"Mulan, you never introduced us to your... friend."

Mulan blushed a bit, glancing at Shang and then at her family. "Oh, yes, of course! Grandma, Mama, Baba, this is Li Shang. He was my commander while I was in the army." She said, sounding rather shy.

"It's an honor to meet the family of Fa Mulan." Said Shang, bowing after he finished speaking.

"Li Shang..." started Fa Zhou, "Are you General Li's son?"

Mulan cringed and looked at Shang, who casted his gaze to the ground and spoke softly. "Y-Yes..." He answered quickly, looking back at Fa Zhou.

"Ah," said the elder man, "he and I were friends when I was serving in the army."

Shang sighed a bit, glancing to the side. "My father..." he paused, "he was recently killed in a battle against the Huns."

Fa Zhou's happy expression soon turned somber as he let the news of his old friend's death sink in. "It cannot be... I am so sorry for your loss, Li Shang." He put his hand on Shang's shoulder, similarly to how Mulan did when Shang first learned of his father's death. There was a small pause, and Mulan finally decided to fill the silence.

"Anyways, Shang, this is my mother, and my grandmother." Shang looked at them and smiled politely, while the women smiled back in the same manner.

"Greetings." Said Shang.

"Hello to you." Said Mulan's grandmother in a mock-flirtatious tone, earning a look from both Mulan and her mother. The old woman laughed at their expressions before turning back to Shang.

"Well, we still have a few hours until dinner. Why don't you two clean yourselves up, and then Mulan could give you a tour of the house, Shang."

Mulan and Shang nodded, smiling at each other as they walked inside of the house. Luckily, they weren't able to see Mulan's grandmother nudge Fa Zhou and say, "He's a keeper."

* * *

The pair was rather silent as they walked around the house, other than Mulan's tour giving, of course. Mulan couldn't help but wonder why he actually came and followed her home, and he was wondering how he would tell her why. Finally, they finished their lap around the house, and they both went off to separate washrooms and cleaned up. It was at the time he finished bathing that Shang realized that his only clean pair of clothes was still in his saddlebags. Cursing himself, he wrapped himself in a towel and slowly opened the door to the hallway, making sure nobody was there. He darted out of the washroom and got outside, thanking the ancestors that nobody saw him.

'I've just got to grab my clothing without being seen... Yes, that cannot be very hard.' He reassured himself multiple times as he went to the stables and took his clothing from his bags. He also, however, didn't seem to notice the older man washing Khan across from him. When Shang finally heard laughter, he turned saw Fa Zhou smiling at him, Shang looking like a deer caught in the headlights at that point.

"F-Fa Zhou," started Shang, adding a small bow, "U-Umm... I've just... Forgotten my clothing in my bags."

"Hehe, my, Li Shang, you seem to be rather forgetful, don't you think? First Mulan's armor, now your clothing." Said Mulan's father, mock-disapprovingly.

"Uh, y-yes, well..." Shang sighed, wondering how he would explain himself, but Fa Zhou smiled and went back to washing Khan.

"Go," he said with a smile, "she's probably waiting!"

"Uh, yes," Shang said, eager to get out of the awkward situation, "I'll see you at dinner!" With that, Shang was off, leaving the man shaking his head with a smile.

* * *

Mulan bathed rather quickly, as she had learned to do so in the army so none of the male soldiers would see her there. As she got out of the washroom and walked into her room, she sighed in relief, elated to be back in her own room for the first time in months. She laid down on her bed for just a few minutes before finding a comfortable dress to wear. Though she didn't want to wear anything particularly nice-looking, she knew her mother would want her to. So, she decided to wear the dress she wore to see the matchmaker, without some of the unnecessary ribbons and frills that she wore to the matchmaker's. She was ready quickly and waited for Shang outside the washroom, knocking on the door quietly.

"Shang, I'm ready, so whenever you are we can go walk around the village, or something!"

She waited for a response and didn't hear one. "Shang?" she called again, not sure where he would be. She was turning around when she saw him running towards the door in only a towel. She didn't have time to speak before he bolted into the room and closed the door. He was out in a matter of seconds, leaving Mulan confused.

"Shang, what was that?"

"Oh," he started, trying to keep himself from blushing at his own awkwardness, "I had just forgotten my clothing in my bags." Shang told her about how he'd ran into her father in the stables, which was followed by lots of laughter from her. Hearing that laughter, he thought, made his embarrassment worthwhile. The pair walked through the hallway and passed the dining room, where Mulan's grandmother was sitting at the table.

"Grandma, Shang and I are going to go walk around the village!" She announced.

The old woman laughed and waved to them. "Alright, have fun, you two!" She winked at both of them as she said it, giggling as she returned to her own affairs. Shang and Mulan laughed a little awkwardly, and headed out of the house.

"Sorry about my grandmother," Mulan started, "she can be a little..." She couldn't think of the word, but it appeared Shang could.

"...Lively, for her age?" He finished.

"Exactly." Said Mulan, laughing a little bit.

Shang smiled, waving his hand dismissively. "Well, don't be. She lightens up the house, clearly. Meanwhile my family members are so boring compared to her."

"Oh? How many people are even in your family, anyways?"

"Well, there's my mother, my older brother, and my younger brother, so I guess that makes four of us." He paused a little bit, smiling at her. "Hopefully, you'll be able to meet them sometime soon."

"Yes, that would be absolutely lovely."

They made their way around the village, looking around and talking to the people who wanted to congratulate them on their previous victory. Of course, there were the people who weren't as happy about Mulan's endeavors, to whom Shang growled, and explained how they'd be dead if it weren't for her. All of them pretty much just grunted and went about their business once he did that. It made Mulan wonder if Shang's strong opinions about her were implying anything, but she quickly dismissed the thought.

' _He wouldn't love somebody like me.'_

* * *

The two came home laughing to themselves about various jokes and memories that they had brought up about their time at camp, most of them being centered around Chi Fu. When they walked into the house, Mulan's mother called to her.

"Mulan, _please_ come help grandma and I in the kitchen!"

Though Mulan's mother was happy to have her daughter safe at home, it was clear that she didn't necessarily approve of her not being a traditional daughter. It was clear that she only wanted Mulan in the kitchen to impress Shang, letting him know that even though she could destroy an army, she could still handle the traditional tasks of a woman.

"I'd better go," she said to him, smiling a little shyly, "I'll see you at dinner." With that, she walked away, Shang staring at her retreating figure.

Shang stood there for a few moments, before turning and seeing Fa Zhou sitting in the dining room. Without hesitation, Shang walked over and sat across from him.

"Fa Zhou," he started, "I have a confession to make, and a question for you."

"Ah," said the man, a knowing smirk on his face, "what seems to be on your mind?"

"W-Well, I..." Shang had gone over this scene multiple times in his head, but never did he think it would be so terrifying in real life. He cracked his knuckles nervously before speaking, "Y-Your daughter... I... She... I am in love with her, sir. I mean... Ever since camp, even when I still presumed she was a man, she was easily my favorite soldier, and-"

" _Mulan_ made a good first impression?" Asked the man, looking bewildered.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then save it for dinner," Fa Zhou laughed, "I cannot wait to see the look on her mother's face when she finds out what went on. Anyways, continue."

Shang couldn't help but chuckle, however he cleared his throat and his expression turned serious once again. "Anyways, when I found out she was a woman, and quite a lovely one at that, I... I couldn't stop thinking about her." He folded his hands, feigning confidence, "Which brings me to my request for you... I would be eternally grateful if you were to allow me to marry your daughter. I will accept _any_ bride price you suggest, so long as I will get to have her hand."

"You are clearly in love, Captain, however my daughter is not to be _sold_ like an animal. I will allow you to marry her, only if she accepts a proposal from you."

Shang nodded, smiling with real confidence this time. "Then I will not give up courting her, sir."

The two men smiled at each other and changed the subject, bonding over a discussion about war strategies. Soon, the three women walked in, carrying plates and bowls of fish and rice, and of course a large pot of tea. They sat down around the table, Mulan to Shang's side, and began to enjoy the meal.

"Oh, my," said Shang, in between bites, "this fish is amazing!"

"Thank you, Shang." Started Fa Li, "You know, Mulan made that!" The girl in question rolled her eyes.

"Well, Mulan, it's _delicious_."

"Thanks." She said quietly, smiling warmly at him.

"So, Shang," Mulan's grandmother interjected, "how was Mulan in the army?"

Shang glanced at Fa Zhou, who had an interested smile on his face, before turning to the old woman. "Well, I'm not going to lie, at first, I could hardly stand _Ping_."

Mulan's family looked at her. "Ping?" Her father asked in an amused manner.

"W-Well, yes," said Mulan shyly, "it was all I could think of." This time, it was her mother who rolled her eyes.

"Anyways," continued Shang, "on the first day, she got into a fight with a few of the other recruits, and she was responsible for spilling rice all over the place!"

Mulan blushed, smiling a little bit. Her mother looked as if she could pass out, while her grandmother and father were laughing.

"However, Mulan turned out to be my best soldier, and easily my favorite." Shang smiled at her, and she smiled back humbly. Mulan could see some of the color return to her mother's face, her grandmother wink at her, and her father smiling with pride. The rest of the dinner was finished in peace, Mulan and Shang both telling stories about their time in the army. Once they had finished eating, the five of them helped one another clean up the table and put the dirty dishes away.

"Mulan," her father said, as they were finishing with their cleaning. She and Shang both looked up at him. "Why don't you show Shang around the gardens once we are done?" This was clearly directed to both of them, and Mulan nodded, the two of them getting back to their cleaning.

* * *

That's it for chapter two! Once again, please review if you liked the chapter, disliked it, etc! Thanks!


	3. Reflections

Sorry that this took a little bit longer than the last chapter, I've had quite a bit of writer's block. Also, I found out that people from all over the world have read this fic, which is pretty awesome. People from South Africa, Israel, China, Indonesia, and lots of other cool places have actually seen this which is amazing.

Anyways, chapter 3! It might be a little shorter than the last two but whatever

* * *

After they had all finished cleaning, Mulan gently took Shang's wrist and led him outside to the gardens, the adults staying in the dining room and talking amongst one another while sipping tea.

Fa Zhou watched as they walked out of view before turning to the women. "He's a fine match for her, don't you agree?"

Grandma Fa crossed her arms, glancing outside. "He's a fine match for anyone."

Fa Li scoffed at this, feeling somewhat panicked. "He _is_ a good match for anyone, he wouldn't ask for Mulan's hand." Fa Zhou merely smiled at this.

"What makes you think that?" The elder woman asked.

"Yes," Fa Zhou interjected, "it is clear that they like each other."

"How would you know that?" Asked Fa Li, taking a sip of tea.

"Because he already _did_ ask for her hand."

The room went quiet, other than Fa Li's teacup falling out of her hand. She smiled and hugged her husband while Fa Zhou's mother looked at them proudly.

* * *

Mulan led Shang through the gardens, showing him the trees, the ponds, and the fields, before leading him to the stone bench under the magnolia tree. The two were engulfed into an awkward silence. Finally, Shang spoke up.

"This... This is all very beautiful, Mulan, you have a lovely home."

"Thank you, that's very kind." She smiled warmly at him.

"U-Um..." He started, "Mulan, I came here because... I-I guess I'd like to apologize."

"Apologize?" He nodded.

"I told you you didn't belong in the city. I-I left you in the mountains, I-" He paused and looked at her before turning his head to the side. "I had to raise my sword at you..."

She put a hand on his shoulder and was about to speak before he continued. "B-But I want you to know that... I-I would never... I wasn't going to hurt you, n-nor will I ever."

She sighed, gently moving her hand to his cheek and turning his face towards hers. She then moved her hand down to comfortingly rest on top of his. "Shang, you don't need to worry. You've been forgiven already. Now please, let it go."

He let out a shaky sigh and shook his head, looking back down at the ground. "I won't be able to. I mean, if I am feeling so bad about this, I can't imagine how you felt when..."

He stopped talking, and the moment of silence was her chance to sigh. "Shang, at least it's over now. You didn't do anything, so there is no reason to feel bad."

It was clear that he wasn't telling the truth when he nodded. "I guess so." He smiled at her weakly, Mulan smiling back in the same manner.

"So," she said in a more lighthearted tone, "how long are you staying here, captain?"

He laughed a bit and smiled, "I'm not exactly sure, maybe a couple of days at most. I have to return home to my brothers and tell them about... Everything. Until then, I'll be staying at an inn in the village." He paused nervously.

"Though, if you wouldn't mind of course, I-I'd like to return sometime soon. I-It's very nice here."

She giggled at his stuttering and smiled at him. "Of course, you're free to come here whenever you'd like. But you don't have to stay in an inn. We have a spare room you can use!"

"Are you sure? I wouldn't like to impose, or anything..."

"It would be an honor."

* * *

With that, the pair went inside of the house, and Mulan led him to the spare room after telling her very pleased parents that he would be staying with them. He sat in a chair, watching Mulan as she set up the bed for him.

'She is so beautiful,' he thought, 'how could I have ever thought her to be a man?'

Once she was finished, she smiled in his direction. "All done!"

He was snapped out of his trance and smiled at her. "Thank you, Mulan, for all of this."

She smiled and headed toward the hallway, crossing the threshold and closing his door. "Goodnight!" She called, walking away from his room and entering hers.

"Goodnight." He whispered. Even though she couldn't hear it.

He changed into his night clothing, which he had brought with him when he went to his horse to get the clothes he wore during the day. He shuddered at the embarrassing memory, praying that Fa Zhou hadn't told Mulan the story.

As he lay in the bed, looking outside at the darkness of the night, he couldn't stop thinking about her. After an hour of thinking of her and ways to tell her his feelings, he finally started to drift off as he lazily thought, 'I love her.'

* * *

Mulan was about to walk into her room and prepare for bed when her parents and grandmother stopped her. The three of them had large smiles on their faces, causing Mulan to raise an eyebrow. Finally, the silence was broken by her grandmother excitedly asking, "So, when's the wedding?!"

Mulan sighed. "Grandma, that isn't funny."

"What do you mean?" Asked her father.

"I mean that Shang doesn't like me in that way, Baba."

Mulan's three relatives looked at each other, realizing he hadn't proposed.

"You don't know that, daughter." Her father replied, "He may care for you more than you know."

"Thank you, Baba, but I doubt it," she said, with a sad smile, "Anyways, I think I am going to go to sleep. I've got quite a few chores to do tomorrow."

The three nodded, and Fa Zhou and his mother walked to their own rooms. Mulan's mother smiled and embraced her. "I am glad you're home, Mulan."

"Me too, Mama." Her mother let go of her and started to walk away.

"Goodnight, get some rest, Mulan!"

The younger woman smiled and walked into her room. She put on clean nightclothes and sighed with relief as she finally got to lay down in her own bed once again, immediately drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Alright! There you have it! Sorry it's not as long (or as good) as the other chapters. The story is going to get more interesting later on, I promise! Thanks for reading! :))


	4. Goodbye for Now

Hello! I've gotten lots of views and even a few reviews since I uploaded my latest chapter, so I thought that I'd try to get this one done as soon as possible! I'm making up for the last chapter with this one, I guess. I like it a lot more than chapter 3, not to mention the fact that it's way longer and just written better overall.

Also, I just want to give a little thank you to the people who read this story. I know this is only the fourth chapter and it hasn't even gotten exciting yet or anything, but the fact that so many different people (812 to be exact, which is probably nothing compared to the visitor count on some of my fav stories) from so many different places have even acknowledged this fic's existence is crazy. I was expecting maybe thirty people to read this (at most!) so it's just really cool that you guys seem to like this story. The fact that people even read this is pretty much all of the encouragement I get for writing this. Maybe afterwards I'll write some more things?

Anyways, thanks again for the support! :)

**Disclaimer (I forgot this last time): Don't own it.

* * *

Chapter 4: Goodbye for now

* * *

All she saw was the color white. She looked around, kept trying to find out where she was. She tried to move her arms and legs around, but it was as if they were frozen. She couldn't even feel them. Then she saw it. The whiteness around her was slowly turning red. She wondered why until she looked at her abdomen and gasped at the large gash that was bleeding out into what Mulan had realized was snow. She yelled, begging for help, and trying to attract attention from anyone who might be around her. Finally, a large hand dug into the snow just above her head. She looked up, relieved, and the hand took hers and lifted her out of the snow. However, she immediately recoiled at the sight of all of her and fellow soldiers lying wounded and dead upon the snow, including Shang and the gang of three. A thought then occurred to her; if they had all died, who saved her from the snow. She looked up and stared into glowing yellow eyes and sharp teeth. _Oh._ She felt a blade slide into her stomach, and the young woman fell unconscious.

* * *

Mulan winced at the bright sunlight as her eyes flew open and she shot up to a sitting position. She looked around and sighed with relief, wiping beads of sweat off of her head. She had heard stories about men in the army who had gotten nightmares after battles, but she hadn't even thought about it before she fell asleep the night before. She reluctantly got up, realizing it was morning, and looked outside to see exactly how early it was. There were dewdrops on the leaves and plants outside of her window. It looked as if the sun had risen only a short time ago. As she was about to turn away, she noticed a figure in the field, who she then realized was Shang, practicing his Kung Fu. She smiled and watched him for a couple of minutes before leaving the window and changing into a simple dark blue dress. After she had changed, she headed outside to the field.

* * *

His night had not been completely different from hers. However, he was the villain in his dreams. He felt so tormented for what he had done to her in the mountains, even if he hadn't really done anything. Of course, it wasn't his fault. The only reason he even did it was so Chi Fu wouldn't whine during the entire trek to the palace. He wanted to tell her this, but she had already apologized to him, and he didn't want to bring up the subject again. He sighed after waking up in a cold sweat. He looked outside the window, taking in the beauty of Mulan's house. The sun hadn't risen, but the sky was starting to get lighter. So, he put on the trousers he had worn while training Mulan and her fellow recruits, got a top as well in case it was cold, and quietly walked outside to a field that Mulan had shown him the night before. He smiled as he thought about her and how he couldn't wait to see her again, even if they had only been separated to sleep. As he got to the field, the sun was beginning rise. He sat down in the grass and looked at the sky, watching the sun come up in a beautiful array of oranges, yellows, and blues. Once the show in the sky had finished, he stood up, deciding to practice some of his Kung Fu moves. His father had always told him to practice each day, so his skills wouldn't deteriorate.

He had been practicing for about half an hour when a voice interrupted him as he was changing positions, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the side. His fall was followed by laughter so beautiful to him that it sounded like music.

"Do you always like to show off like this in the mornings, captain?"

He smiled as a hand reached down to him and he took it, playfully rolling his eyes at her as he stood up. When she let go of his hand, however, he momentarily considered falling over again, just so he could have his hand in hers once more. He shook his head, dismissing the thought, and spoke to her. "Thank you."

"Of course." More laughter came from her, setting the young captain's heart afire. "How did you sleep last night? Was the room comfortable for you?"

"Oh, yes, I slept..." He stopped for a moment, wondering if he should tell her the truth about his nightmares or not. "...Like a baby."

She raised an eyebrow, looking at him skeptically before shrugging and smiling once again. "Me too. It was nice to sleep in a bed."

"Oh, please, it wasn't _that_ horrible at camp."

"It was worse than this."

"Yes, I'll give you that." He smiled at her sweetly before remembering the reason he was outside in the first place.

"Anyways, care for a sparring match, _Ping_?" It was her turn to roll her eyes in the same playful manner as him, nodding and getting into position. Shang got into the same position, smiling playfully at her.

"Alright, but I might not be as good in a dress! You might actually beat me." She taunted, a smirk on her face as she attempted to deliver a punch to his face. He dodged it and smirked as well.

"Well, you did manage to save all of China wearing a dress, I wouldn't be too surprised if you did win." His arm swooped around in an attempt to hit her in the head. She ducked just in time, using a fist to punch his chest. He stepped back slightly, but quickly hit her in the stomach. This only encouraged her more. As he attempted to punch her torso, she grabbed his wrist, using his arm as support to jump up slightly and kick him in the jaw. He stepped back once again, taking a moment to move his hand to his jaw. However, during that moment, she got down and defeated him with the same move she used on Shan Yu; whipping her foot around to kick his ankle. He fell, but was smiling at her as he did.

"Mulan, that was amazing! I love-" He stopped, his eyes widening a bit and his laughter coming to a halt. "...H-Having you as a... Sparring partner." As he looked to the side, he could have sworn he saw her frown in his peripheral vision. He was relieved, however, when any awkward energy between them at the moment went away as Fa Li called the two inside for breakfast. She helped him up once again and they both walked into the house, Shang putting his shirt on before he went inside.

"Good morning, Shang," said Fa Zhou, once he saw the young man walk inside, "how did you sleep last night?"

"Wonderfully, sir, thank you for letting me use it for the night." The older man chuckled.

"You are welcome to use it whenever you please."

Shang smiled at him as Fa Li and her mother-in-law brought out the meal. The next few minutes were spent in silence as the five ate their food, until Shang paused and smiled at Mulan's mother and grandmother. "Once again, a delicious meal. How do you even know how to cook so well?"

"Well, it's in the family!" Grandma Fa quickly stated. "I wouldn't be too surprised if Mulan's got the skills as well. Hehe, maybe if she tried cooking once in a while instead of daydreaming, we'd be able to see!"

"Grandma!" Fa Li whispered loudly. The old woman laughed, along with Shang and Fa Zhou, while Mulan awkwardly returned to eating.

"Mulan," her father started, "Your mother, grandmother and I are going to the market today. Could you do some of the chores while we're gone?" He then turned to Shang. "I hope you don't mind, of course, but harvesting season is starting once more, and she's got to start helping out with it."

"It's not a problem, sir. In fact, I wouldn't mind helping her out." This almost made Mulan spit out her tea. She quickly swallowed it and attempted to hide her laughter.

"What's so funny?" Asked Shang, just a tad irritated.

"A rich city boy is offering to help me harvest crops!" She laughed more, not being able to contain it, which caused him to roll his eyes. Fa Zhou and his mother laughed along quietly while Fa Li glared at her daughter.

"I can harvest crops just fine..." Said Shang, before he put some more food into his mouth.

"Alright, captain, we'll see."

* * *

After the meal, Mulan's family members left to the village. Mulan quickly changed into a shirt and pants, similar to what she wore during training. She went outside with bare feet and found Shang, who was waiting by one of the fields for her.

"Okay, today we can start harvesting the wheat today. She gestured to a large field filled with the crop in question, and Shang's eyes widened.

"That's... Quite a lot."

"Well, it's nothing somebody who can harvest crops can't do." She smirked a little bit, and he laughed nervously.

"R-Right."

By the time she had cleared a whole area, he hadn't been able to get anything. She laughed a little bit, thinking that how hard he was trying was at least endearing. After a frustrated groan from Shang, she finally went over to him and showed him the proper way to harvest. He couldn't get it right the first couple of times, so she decided to demonstrate by putting her hands on his and guiding them, which made him want to abandon harvesting altogether and kiss her. Of course, however, he refrained. Once she let go, he was finally able to do it himself and thanked her. With the two of them finally working, they finished rather quickly. Once they were done, Mulan wiped the sweat off of her forehead and smiled at him.

"Not bad, captain." She mocked, smiling slightly. He smirked at her and laughed.

"Thanks, soldier."

After finishing other chores, such as washing the horses, cleaning the house, and other tasks like those, Mulan's relatives returned home with food from the market. Shang and Mulan helped them stock the kitchen full of food, and once they were done, he pulled Mulan aside.

"I may have to be off soon. As far as I know, my brothers and mother don't exactly know where I am." Mulan nodded understandingly at this. Shang then proceeded to tell her family members the same thing, and the three of them nodded in the same way as Mulan.

"Do you need any help packing your things, Shang?" Asked Mulan.

"No, I think I'm okay. I'll be done in a few minutes." He excused himself and headed to the room he was staying in, leaving Mulan and her family together in the kitchen.

"It's clear that he's sweet on you, Mulan." Said her grandmother, nudging her.

"I-I don't know, grandma, Shang and I are just _friends_." The older woman scoffed.

As Shang had said before, it was only a couple of minutes before he was back in the Kitchen.

"Well, I'm off, I guess." He said to the four of them. He bowed to Fa Zhou, who dismissed the formalities and embraced Shang, and gave both Fa Li and her mother-in-law kisses on the cheek. He looked at Mulan, as if he was going to say something, but she hushed him.

"I'll walk out to the stables with you."

He smiled at her and nodded, and the pair walked outside to Shang's stallion. When they were in front of the stall, Shang turned to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Mulan, thank you so much for everything, really. I-I mean, not even just allowing me to stay over, but... For _everything_. I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for you. You... You really are an inspiration to me, Fa Mulan."

She smiled humbly, shaking her head slightly. "O-Oh, no, it was you who trained me, anyway." He smirked at her and mounted his horse. "You don't have to be modest, Mulan, it was you who saved us all."

She blushed, trying as hard as possible to keep it down. "W-Well, thank you." There was a bit of silence as the two just smiled at each other for a minute or two, before Mulan spoke once again.

"When do you think you can visit again?"

"I don't know, maybe in a month or so."

' _A whole month?_ ' She thought, but nodded, understanding that he had to be with his family for the time being.

"B-But I'll be sure to write to you until I see you again." He added. Her expression brightened up at this.

"And I'll be sure to write back."

"Great, great. I-I'll see you then, Mulan." With that, he gave her one last glance before kicking his horse and heading off.

"See you then."

* * *

 **Okay** , I hope that some of you liked that better than the last chapter! I certainly do. As always, thanks for reading! I'll try to upload another chapter as soon as I can! :)


	5. Matchmaker Part 1

Hey guys! Once again, I got a couple of reviews, which made me really happy! So, I guess it's time to reply to some of them!

 **The Cat Charmer** **-** He could tell her in this chapter, or the final one, you never know~! But, when he does, be prepared for it to be as sweet as I can possibly manage! I'm just not sure exactly how I'm going to go about it, however. It might be surrounded by angst, or completely gushy and romantic. Hopefully, however I do it, it will fit with the story!

 **1bluesapphire -** Oh my god thank you so much, you're so sweet! Also, I really want Mushu to be in this story as well, so if I can figure out how to incorporate him in a way that would flow with the story, I definitely DEFINITELY will! (Also, I saw your story as I was looking for fics to read. I saw that you had reviewed my story, so I clicked yours and ABSOLUTELY loved it! Keep up the good work!)

Anyways, thanks so so so much to everyone for reviewing. It's so cool to hear what you guys think about my story so far! Anyways, without further adieu, chapter five! I tried to leave out some of the romantic stuff for the first part of this chapter, but there may be a little bit towards the end. I did want to give background on Shang specifically, since the movie really doesn't give any. Get ready for a _really_ long chapter.

**Disclaimer: I don't own the movie Mulan, just the characters in this story who aren't in the movie.

* * *

Chapter 5: Matchmaker (Part 1)

* * *

Mulan's perfect sleep schedule of waking as the sun rose had finally been broken, much to her parents' dismay. It had been two weeks and two days since Shang left, and there had already been a letter from him, saying he had arrived from his family estate. She had written back as quickly as she'd received the letter, wishing him and his family well in light of the recent passing. Since then, she had returned to the humble life of a peasant. Mulan woke up shortly before noon and realized she had slept in once again. 'Crap,' she thought, 'my parents are going to get angry...' Which they did. But, as much as Mulan didn't particularly enjoy getting scolded, she was happy to be back to her normal daily routine of waking up late, doing her chores, riding Khan, etcetera, etcetera. However, the one thing she wasn't looking forward to was...

" _You're going to the Matchmaker tomorrow morning!_ " Her mother exclaimed.

Mulan looked at her, shocked. "But Mama, I-"

"I want none of your stubbornness today, Mulan! You should be grateful that the Matchmaker is giving you a second chance, you know."

"But I don't _want_ a match!"

"Don't be silly, Mulan, you're going to want a husband and you know it."

"Ugh, Mama-"

"Now come, Mulan, we must go find a dress for you!"

As much as it pained her, Mulan was not one to disrespect her mother's wishes. She understood that her mother would rather her be a 'proper lady' than a soldier, so she wasn't going to put up too much of a fight. After all, she had wanted to make her family proud, and at the least, this was just another way to do it. Mulan was dragged by the hand as her mother perused the village with her, looking at different dresses that were being sold by local merchants. Mulan had to admit to herself that she did love her village. Of course, she had seen many others with lavish homes and luxuries, and wouldn't mind a few nicer things of her own, but she was perfectly content leading a modest life, unlike many of her neighbors. Many of the people she grew up knowing would oftentimes be dreaming of extensive wealth and property, or of loyal servants and a perfect spouse. Mulan had never wanted those things as much as others. All she had wanted was to bring her family honor while still being herself, which she had done. She was dragged out of her thoughts when her mother led her inside of a shop.

The room was small, however there were multiple dresses hung up by pins along the walls. The young woman particularly liked a light blue silk dress which was held together with a dark blue sash which went around the waist. She showed it to Fa Li, who also seemed to like it. So, the dress was purchased and the two headed back to their estate. When the two walked inside, Mulan was elated to find out that she had gotten another letter from Shang. Immediately, she thanked her mother for the dress and went into her room, closing the door with more force than she had intended to. Excited, she opened the scroll from Shang, which read:

 _Dearest Mulan,_

 _Thank you very much for your condolences. My family has still been adjusting to the recent event. Honestly, I feel that they are letting it sink in, as well as I am. It has not been easy, though they are at least happy that I am home._

 _Speaking of which, I told them that you were the very reason that I am even **able** to be home at the time. When I had brought you up, my family had not heard of what you have done. I told them, however, and they have all gained complete respect for you, especially my younger brother, Li Bo. You will have to meet him sometime, I'm sure. Though he is only five, the two of you seem to have much in common. _

_I am hoping to see you soon, Mulan. I would be lying if I said I wasn't rather bored. It has been quite somber here, and I would really enjoy your company. However, as I hope you understand, I do need to spend time with my family for a little while longer. Once this all passes, however, I plan to return to your home and see you and your family once again, if you will have me. Let me know what you think._

 _I_ ███ _miss you, and hope to see you soon._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Shang._

Mulan set his letter aside and began to write her reply, ignoring the large blotch of ink in the letter.

As she was doing so, her parents talked in another room, quietly.

"Does she really have to go to the matchmaker, Li? I've already told you about Shang's proposal." Asked Fa Zhou.

"Yes, Zhou, wouldn't you rather have options for our daughter?"

The man sighed, realizing there was no use in arguing about the matter. "I guess so."

* * *

The whole ride home from Mulan's house, Shang's thoughts were completely disorganized. He was thinking of Mulan, and wishing he could kick himself for not being able to tell her how he felt _again._ On the other hand, however, he spent a lot of time deciding how to tell his family about his father's passing. Yes, the Li family had always been prepared for this, but they had never imagined what it would feel like. Especially little Li Bo, who, at only five years old, barely knew what death meant. Shang's older brother, Li Wu, was the closest to their father, him being the oldest. The two had always been inseparable, even as adults. Shang's father had taught Wu military strategy since he could hardly talk, and they had bonded immensely over the last twenty-two years. Now twenty-four, Wu understood that his father's life could very well come to an end, especially as a general. Shang knew his older brother may not even be able to take the news of their father's passing. Shang was also very close to his father, however not in the same way as Wu, which he had always understood.

Shang's mother and father had not been arranged to marry through a matchmaker. In fact, they were quite close as children because of their parents, who were family friends. Shang's parents were arranged to be married once both families had the babies around the same time. As children, the two were aware of their arrangement, but were perfectly fine with it. Shang wondered quite often if his parents were only friends as husband and wife, and if there was any romance at all in their relationship. He knew that they were best friends at the least, and that his mother would be miserable without General Li. Shang sighed. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

The young captain had decided to ride through the night and arrive at his home in the early morning. As he walked into his home, his family was dining at the table, eating porridge and pork for breakfast. His mother and older brother looked at him with a smile, and before they could say anything, Li Bo ran to Shang and wrapped his small arms around his legs.

"Shang!" Li Bo squealed with delight.

"Hey, Bo!" He exclaimed, lifting up the small boy. Shang and Bo shared a deep bond, much like their older brother and their father had. As a 15-year-old, Shang was skeptical about having a new brother, thinking that he'd hate being a middle child. However, Bo loved Shang and always followed him around as a toddler. Shang of course loved him back, and they did as much as they could together.

Shang lifted up his brother, allowing him to sit on his shoulders and hold onto his head. Shang leaned over to his mother and kissed her cheek. "Hello, Mama."

The woman wrapped her arms around him happily, sighing with relief. "Shang, I'm so happy you're safe!"

Shang's mother, Li Mei, was a short and rather plump woman. However, she was very beautiful, especially for her age. She was very practical, not caring too much for traditions, but still upholding them for the sake of others. She had been born into a middle class family, her father in the military as well as her spouse. She was very joyful most of the time, but could still act appropriately when she needed to.

Shang then walked over to his older brother, who stood up to hug him. The two smiled as they embraced, before Wu asked the question Shang had been dreading.

"Where's Baba?"

The room went silent. Shang gently lifted Li Bo off of his head and set him down in a chair, the young man's expression turning somber.

"I-I think you should sit down, Wu."

Shang could sense that the rest of the family, excluding Li Bo, could tell exactly where he was going. He sighed and explained what had happened to their family member. Li Bo had started crying along with his mother, whereas Wu had a stone cold expression on his face, looking down at his meal. Shang comforted his mother and younger brother, and frowned when Li Wu had left the table and headed straight to his room. Shang excused himself, going to talk to his older brother.

"Wu," he knocked on the door, "c-could I come in?"

"Yeah, whatever." He heard, muffled by the door. Shang opened the door and saw Li Wu sitting on his bed, staring into space. Shang and Wu were also very close, Li Wu only being four years older than Shang was. Whenever their father was gone, Wu and Shang would always train together, especially as children. He looked almost exactly like Shang, however with a small goatee growing. Shang sat next to his brother on the bed and sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You can cry, you know, Wu. You don't have to always refrain from showing weakness."

He answered by shaking his head, sniffing. "No, I-I can't. What would he think?"

"He wouldn't care. I'm sure that if something happened to you he wouldn't be able to help but cry."

That broke Li Wu. He started crying while Shang had embraced him gently, allowing him to cry into his shoulder. After a little while, Wu had said he wanted to be alone for a while. Shang got up and returned to the dining room, where he saw Li Bo sitting in his mother's lap. The two of them had stopped crying, but still had tear-stains on their faces. Li Mei had turned to Shang, and Shang comfortingly took his mother's hand. Li Bo crawled out of his mother's lap and walked over to Shang, who he sat down next to.

"Shang, we had all been prepared for this," his mother started, "I just didn't imagine it would actually happen."

"Yes, I know, Mama. But, he died an honorable death. I'm sure he was proud to die for his country."

Silence filled the room as the three stayed silent for a while. Finally, Li Bo spoke up, lightening the mood slightly.

"What else happened while you were away, Shang?"

Shang gave a small smile at this. Li Bo loved hearing military stories, and Shang thought it would be a good way to take all of their minds off of recent events.

"Have you guys not heard?" He asked. The two shook their heads, confusedly.

"Well, Baba had made me captain of my own troop, before he left with his. It was amazing, of course, however I was responsible for training the new recruits." Shang sighed, making his mother and brother only look more confused.

"What happened?" Asked his mother.

Shang went on to tell them about training, and about how a particular Fa Ping was the worst of the men. His family laughed at the stories he told about Ping, who was always getting into trouble with the other recruits. However, it was obvious that they had gained some respect for the boy when Shang told them about how he was able to climb the pole before any of the other men.

"...And then we went to battle. For most of the trip, we were just walking to the battleground, the men laughing and joking and singing about different women they'd like to marry." Shang's mother rolled her eyes.

"Once we got to the Tung Shao pass, however, we found a burned out village, which was when..." Shang paused. "W-When I realized that Baba's troop had been defeated." The three hung their heads for a moment in respect. Shang continued on, however, telling them about how Fa Ping was able to take down the whole Hun Army with a single cannon. The two were impressed. Even Li Bo had known about how strong the Hun's forces were.

"I had fallen unconscious during the avalanche, but Ping was _still_ able to rescue me. That was only the _first_ time she had saved my life."

"She?" His mother rose an eyebrow.

"I'm getting to that part." Shang assured, leaving his mother confused.

So he did, telling them about how Ping was bleeding out from a gash in his side. He told them about how he went into the tent after the medic had referred to Ping as a _she_ and not a _he._

"A _woman_?" The two asked at the same time. Shang nodded.

"That must have been hard for her, having to spend months surrounded by men." Said Li Mei.

However, Li Bo had a different reaction. "That's so _cool_!" Shang and Mei laughed at his reaction.

"Yes, she's pretty cool, Bo."

"Did you have to..." His mother asked, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"No. N-No, I wouldn't, I... I wouldn't be able to hurt her. I had to pretend as if I was going to, for the snobby councilman with us, but there is no way I could have done it."

"Sounds like you're sweet on her." His mother added, smirking. Shang scoffed and Li Bo laughed.

"Anyways, I was angry that she had deceived me and the rest of the soldiers, but I wouldn't ever kill her for it."

He then told them about how she had still managed to take down the remaining Huns, save him once again, _and_ the emperor. They were even more impressed.

"After she had saved us once again, she had forgotten her helmet at the palace, so I returned it to her, which was where I have been for the past two days." Li Mei smirked once again, and Shang rolled his eyes.

"What did you say this girl's name was?" She asked.

"I didn't. It's Fa Mulan."

"She's Fa Zhou's daughter?"

"Yes, Fa Zhou expressed his sympathy for Father. He said that he knew him."

"Yes, I had met Fa Zhou a few times myself. I even met Mulan once or twice. _You_ may have met her before, though I doubt you'd remember it."

"Yes, I must have been as little as Bo." The little boy scoffed.

" _I'm not little..."_ he mumbled. Shang smiled at this and rustled Bo's hair.

"So what did you do at Mulan's home?"

"Well, I... She showed me around the house and I helped her with some chores and stuff and... She... I-I asked Fa Zhou for her hand."

It was silent for a moment before Li Bo spoke with a smile. "So you _do_ love her! You two are going to get married!"

"Well..."

"Does she _know_ , Shang? I know you aren't great with women." Li Bo laughed at his brother and Shang looked down at the table.

"Well, no she doesn't. And Fa Zhou said he'd only give me his blessing if Mulan said yes to a proposal. I-I've tried telling her, but..."

Li Mei laughed, comfortingly putting a hand on her son's shoulder. "It will be okay. Maybe she will have a better reaction than you think."

"I don't know."

"When are you going to see her again?" Asked Li Bo. "I want to meet her, she sounds nice."

Shang smiled at his brother. "I told her in a month, so I'll have time to be with you guys for a while."

"A whole _month?"_ The two asked in unison.

"Well yes, I..." His mother sighed.

"I understand, Shang, but you better write to her. A heroine of China will definitely be getting more proposals than yours."

This scared Shang for a moment. It must have been evident in his facial expression, for his mother and younger brother both had matching smirks on their faces.

"W-Will you excuse me, Mama, I may as well go write one right now."

"Of course."

Shang got up and quickly left the table, heading to his room to write to her.

* * *

The next two weeks went by slowly at the Li household. There were not many smiles or jokes as the rest of Shang's family let the thought of General Li's passing sink in. Li Wu had gotten time off of work to grieve. In that period of time, he had left his room no more than twice. He would hardly eat and spend most of the day sleeping to escape reality. He couldn't accept his father's death, and the rest of the family understood and left him alone.

Shang had received a reply from Mulan, after what felt like years of waiting. Although he would rather speak to her face-to-face, he was a little happy that he couldn't stutter in letters, or so he thought. As he was writing one of them, he had written the word _love_ instead of _miss_ , as he was saying "I miss you."

"Damn it." He said under his breath as he was writing. 'I can't even stay calm while writing a letter to her.' He covered it up with ink, hoping that she wouldn't think too much of it, and finished the letter quickly. He went into the town, finding a messenger to deliver her letter. As he returned home, he saw another messenger in front of his house, though this man wore an imperial seal on his robes.

Confused, Shang bowed to the man. "Do you have a notice for me, sir?"

The man nodded, handing him a scroll.

"Thank you."

With that, the man was off, and Shang read the scroll as he walked into his home. The message was short:

 _Captain Li Shang,_

 _Please report to the palace in three days. There is military business to be discussed in person with me. Please escort Fa Mulan as well, as I personally request for her to join China's troops once more._

It was signed by the Emperor himself. Shang was able to feel butterflies in his stomach as he read Mulan's name. 'At least I have an excuse to see her sooner.'

* * *

 **A/N:** Alright, I decided to split this chapter into to parts so I could come out with it sooner! Hope you guys like it, and please review! :)


	6. Matchmaker Part 2

Hey, sorry this took a little bit! I've been pretty busy with my family this week, but I couldn't wait to update!

Here's the second part of the last chapter, again it's pretty long, but I covered a lot!

As always, thank you to those of you who followed the story or reviewed it or even just read in in general!

**Disclaimer: Don't own Mulan or the characters seen in the movie.

* * *

Chapter 5: Matchmaker (Part 2)

* * *

"Mulan, hold still!"

"But-"

"You'd think that after four months in the military you'd at least be disciplined!"

"Mama, I-!"

Mulan's protests were cut off by her mother, who had started rubbing the dreaded white powder all over the young woman's face. Mulan sighed and rolled her eyes.

'Why do I have to do this again? It's not like I've learned anything new. I thought I'd already brought honor to the family.' She thought, as her mother applied the thick red paint to her lips. She looked down at her blue dress, running her hands through the fabric. As much as she'd rather wear trousers, she did think the dress was exceptionally beautiful, certainly more so than the last dress she wore to see the Matchmaker. When her makeup was finally finished, her grandmother gave her another apple, the same necklace and pendant, but decided to leave out the cricket this time; it was for the best. Before lining up in front of the Matchmaker's home, she quickly took her flower comb out of her saddlebag and used it as an accessory for her hair, which was put up in a way very similar to how it had been during her first visit. Finally, she joined the other women who were already in front of the unpleasant woman's door. When she called the first name, however, it wasn't Mulan's.

"Liu Yang!" The pompous woman exclaimed.

Emitting a sigh of relief, Mulan became slightly less tense. 'At least I'm not the first girl this time.' However, as she thought that, she turned to see all of the other ladies were staring at her.

"What?" Asked Mulan, confused.

"You're Fa Mulan, aren't you?" One of the women asked. She was tall, had a round face, and a frame much larger than Mulan's.

"Yes, why?" The other three women laughed.

"I heard that you were too _manly_ to get betrothed the first time you came here." Another one spoke up.

Mulan scoffed and turned away. "Whatever."

The other girls continued to laugh among themselves, however the laughter became silence as Liu Yang burst through the doors, hiding her crying face and dripping makeup behind her fan. Mulan felt sympathy for the girl, having been in the same position before. The Matchmaker stepped onto the porch, not seeming to care about Liu Yang, and spoke up once again.

"Fa Mulan!"

Mulan gracefully walked up the stairs to the doors, as another one of the women quietly called to her.

"Good Luck." She said, a smirk on her face. Mulan rolled her eyes at her and went inside, knowing that she'd actually need some of that luck.

* * *

Li Shang had ridden through the night once again and arrived at the Fa household the next morning. Though he was the most tired he's been since his return, the thought that he'd be able to see Mulan once again was enough to make him stay awake. He rode his horse through the gate to the household and got off of his horse, tying him up in the familiar stables. Gathering his courage, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door to the house.

Fa Zhou heard the knocking, rolling his eyes at the fact that the visitor had interrupted his reading. He grabbed his cane and went to the door, his sour expression immediately turning to a smile as he saw Shang in the doorway.

"Greetings, Li Shang, back so soon?"

"Uh, yes sir. B-But this is regarding military operations, actually." He cleared his throat, shifting his weight. "Could I speak to Mulan, please?"

"I would say yes, but she's at the Matchmaker."

Shang's heart stopped for a second. "The... Matchmaker?"

"Yes." Fa Zhou sighed. "I had wished for her not to go, but her mother insisted she have 'options.'"

"Y-Yes, I see. Could you tell me where the Matchmaker is? The Emperor requests her presence immediately."

The man nodded and quickly told Shang the directions to the Matchmakers house. The captain mounted his horse and took off, wondering, 'Why the _hell_ would she be at the Matchmaker? I thought...' He shook his head, dismissing his thoughts when he realized he was being rather selfish. Soon enough, he was in front of the Matchmaker's home, where two other women and a crowd of others were outside waiting. As Shang got off of his horse and tied him in a nearby stable, he found Fa Li and her mother-in-law.

"Excuse me?" He asked. They turned their heads and smiled.

"Oh, hello, Shang! What are you doing here?" Asked Fa Li.

"I have something rather urgent to discuss with Mulan."

"You're proposing to her?" Asked an excited Grandma Fa. Shang blushed slightly and shook his head.

"N-No, not yet. The Emperor has asked me to bring her to see him immediately."

"Well, she's inside right now. Can it wait a few minutes?"

"I..." Yes. He knew it could, but part of him wanted to say no. Not because he was worried about how much time he'd have left, but because he was worried about what would happen if the Matchmaker paired Mulan with someone else. Reluctantly, Shang nodded.

Fa Li had turned her attention elsewhere, discussing her daughter with the parents of the other girls who were visiting the Matchmaker that day. Once she had forgotten about Shang and Grandma Fa, the old woman nudged Shang with a smile.

"Go ahead."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mulan will be fine."

Shang nodded and slipped through the crowd. The two women who were dressed up as porcelain dolls waved at him flirtatiously, gently fanning their faces. Shang rolled his eyes and opened the doors.

* * *

"Recite the Final Admonition."

Mulan could feel the nervous sweat running down her neck. No, she didn't care about passing the test or not, but she would rather not have the people of the village think even less of her. She took a deep breath and spoke as clearly as she could.

"Fulfill your duties calmly and respectfully. Reflect before you act. Th-This shall bring you honor and glory." She sighed, the Matchmaker staring at her critically.

As Mulan was walking over to the table, memories of her last visit kept running through her mind, only making her more nervous.

"Pour the tea." The Matchmaker said. "I'll be sure to keep my distance this time."

Mulan nodded and gently picked up the teapot, concentrating heavily on doing it right, when she heard the doors open behind her. The Matchmaker immediately went off.

" _Excuse me,_ this is a _private_ session and-"

"I've come to talk to Fa Mulan about military matters."

Mulan, recognizing the voice, turned around and saw Shang. A wave of fear washed over her. 'The Matchmaker will _never_ meet with me again after this...'

" _MILITARY MATTERS?"_

Mulan stared at him as the Matchmaker was yelling at Shang; she was saying something about how women don't belong in the military, making both Mulan and Shang roll their eyes.

"Miss, his majesty has requested Mulan's presence right away. Maybe you can reschedule this meeting?"

The Matchmaker snorted and crossed her arms. "No matter. It is clear that she is still like a _man_." Mulan cringed at this.

'The women outside were right, weren't they?' She thought. 'I'll never be fit for being a perfect girl.' Mulan knew that at this point, being a good bride or woman wouldn't be important any longer, but it wasn't exactly a self-esteem booster when the entire village seemed ashamed of her. She sighed and stood up, bowing to the Matchmaker before leaving the building with Shang. As they walked out together, the other two women looked at them in awe.

"Was _she_ just betrothed to him or something?" One of them asked the other. Shang glared at them and walked past with Mulan.

The pair approached Fa Li and Grandma Fa. Fa Li hadn't been paying attention to anything, still caught up in conversation, while the older woman was smirking.

Mulan tapped her mother's shoulder, causing her to turn around with a smile.

"Oh, Mulan, have you finished."

"W-Well, yes, Mama."

"I'm sure Li Shang has told you that you must go to the palace, correct?"

Shang and Mulan nodded.

"Take care, Mulan, we will see you soon." Fa Li hugged her daughter and smiled at Shang before walking off, calling Grandma Fa to join her.

The woman put a hand on her granddaughter's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll take care of your mother. I'm assuming you'll be back here in a few days even if you are called to battle, since Mulan's got none of her things with her."

Mulan was quite relieved at this. She wasn't ready to be parting from her family right away, so she was slightly happy to realize that she'd be back before she went off on another adventure.

With that, Grandma Fa turned and followed Fa Li, Mulan and Shang walking towards a stable with both of their horses inside. Finally, when they were alone, Mulan looked at him with an angry expression.

"What the _hell_ was that _?_ " Asked Mulan, outraged. "You ruined my chances of having any respect from the people in the village!"

"W-What? Mulan, I had orders to..."

"You couldn't wait just a few minutes?"

"I..."

Mulan sighed. "Forget it, it isn't your fault I guess." It was clear that she was still unhappy; she didn't make eye contact with him and got on top of Khan in silence.

Shang would have hit himself if she weren't there. 'Why did I do it?' He thought. 'I had orders to, of course, but...' He looked over at her as they started riding.

'Maybe I didn't want her to receive a different match.'

Neither of them said a word until they had ridden out of the village.

"We only have a short time to arrive. If we're fast enough, we could possibly make it by sundown. If not, we may have to ride through the night."

Mulan nodded at this. "Let's ride faster, then."

With that, she kicked her horse, making her get well ahead of Shang. He sighed and did the same so they would catch up.

* * *

By the time the sun had set, Mulan and Shang had arrived at the palace. They walked through the grand entrance after tying up their stallions, the guards bowing to them.

As they walked inside, an annoying, skinny, arrogant councilman looked at the two of them.

"What are _you_ doing here, hm?" He asked Shang.

"The Emperor has requested to see us, Chi Fu." Said Shang, quite annoyed at Chi Fu's existence.

"What about her?" He pointed to Mulan. "Is he making her his concubine?"

It was then that Mulan remembered that she was still dressed for the Matchmaker. If she looked in a mirror, she'd see smeared makeup concealing her face.

"She does need a touch up..." Added Chi Fu. Shang glared at him, sighing as he tried to contain his anger, yet failed.

"She has brought more honor to China than you ever will. You should treat her with at least _some_ respect."

"She's a _woman._ The only honor she could bring is in the kitchen."

Shang groaned out of frustration. "I don't have time for this. _The Emperor has requested to see us._ " He repeated, his tone more menacing. He towered over Chi Fu, making the scrawnier man whimper.

"Y-Yes, of course, y-you may enter the throne room." Chi Fu said, quite intimidated by Shang. He gestured to a large doorway at the end of the hall. Shang and Mulan both bowed and walked forward.

As they slowly walked to the door, Shang leaned over to Mulan.

"Don't listen to him," he whispered, "he's just jealous of you."

"Thanks, I guess." Said Mulan, hardly acknowledging him.

Shang sighed. "Mulan, if this is about the Matchmaker, I-"

"We'll talk about it later." She said simply, opening the door to the throne room. Shang walked in after her.

The Emperor smiled down at them from his throne. The two soldiers bowed to him, as the older man chuckled.

"Please, no need for that, heroes of China." He smiled.

Mulan and Shang stood, smiling back at him.

"How can we assist you, your majesty?" Shang asked.

"Well," the Emperor paused, sighing, "I have some bad news."

Shang and Mulan looked at him, prepared for anything though still feeling very nervous.

"We believe that a handful of Hun spies have been living in China for decades, disguised as citizens, or even as Imperial soldiers. Our suspicions have recently been confirmed, as we learned that they have been leaking our military strategies to their leaders." He paused, taking a breath."We have also learned that there are still many Hun soldiers in Mongolia, who are advancing quickly towards the northern border of China. They have been receiving help from the spies, so they will be just as prepared as last time."

The news was not easy to take in. However, any thoughts Mulan and Shang could have were interrupted by the Emperor.

"Captain Li Shang," he started. Shang stepped forward. "You will be training more recruits, and lead our troops into battle as General."

Shang bowed, quite surprised that he had received the title. "It would be an honor, sir."

The Emperor smiled sadly at him. "Your father would be very proud that you have followed in his footsteps."

Shang looked up, his face like stone to keep from showing emotion at the moment. He knew he'd have to say a prayer for his father later.

"And you, Fa Mulan." Mulan looked up at him. "I would be most grateful if you would serve as a captain."

"Your Majesty..." Mulan started. "Are you sure? I-I mean, I don't have the experience, or..."

"Do you not wish to be a captain?"

"No, no, I would be honored to have to title, but..."

The Emperor gestured for her to come closer, which she did almost automatically.

"Fa Mulan, it is clear that you are easily the best candidate for this position. You show more strength, more wisdom and determination than men who have been training for decades for this title."

Mulan was speechless. She simply nodded and thanked him.

"Shall you accept your duties, you will both arrive at Wu Zhong in three days. The officers will be arriving in four, and the recruits in five."

Mulan and Shang looked at each other confusedly. "Officers?" They both asked.

The Emperor smiled at them and nodded. 'Three of them." Mulan and Shang understood what he meant and smiled.

"Chi Fu will be alerting the provinces of the threat as usual, and then joining you later on."

' _Great_.' They both thought, but nodded anyways.

With that, Mulan and Shang were dismissed after being invited to spend the night in the palace. After much persuading and insisting by the Emperor himself, they agreed. Their rooms were across from one another, making both of them secretly happy.

And as Mulan and Shang were lying awake that night, they couldn't help but think of the other, even if she was still angry at him.

* * *

The next morning came too soon for both Mulan and Shang. After eating a very large breakfast, they were off.

"Mulan," He said over the sound of the horses galloping. It had been a very quiet ride, both of them thinking about how to approach the upcoming battle, and about what to do about their own problems. She turned to him and he smiled slightly. Just seeing her face made his heart pump faster.

"Mulan, I... I'm sorry about the Matchmaker."

"Why'd you do it though? Surely somebody told you to wait."

"Well, yes, but... I didn't _want_ to wait."

She looked at him with an angry, confused expression. It was obvious she expected more of an answer.

"Well _why not?_ " She asked. "That was my last chance!" Shang was getting more and more frustrated. Couldn't she just forgive him?

"I thought you didn't even _like_ the Matchmaker. Why is this so important anyways?" He snapped.

"I _hate_ the Matchmaker! I-"

"Then why does something like this _matter_ to you? You should be paying attention to more _important_ things!" He cut her off. He opened his mouth to yell once more, then stopped himself, realizing he had said the wrong thing to her. She stopped her horse, as did he. She looked at him in silence for a second, her expression unreadable. Finally, she was able to choose the right thing to say.

"It was my last chance to be _accepted_ , Shang."

"I-" She stopped him.

"It was my last chance to not be a _burden_ to anyone. Shang, ever since I got back, people wouldn't even talk to me. Old friends wouldn't acknowledge my _existence_. Strangers would laugh to each other when they saw me. Of course there were a couple of people who admired me, but that didn't help when everyone else was _shunning_ me. I wasn't thrilled or anything when I was told I'd have to see the Matchmaker again, but I was _desperate_ because I knew that I'd at least get _some_ sort of approval if it went well! Not to mention the fact that it mattered to my mother as well. It was the least I could do for her, anyways. And it was going better than I had thought it would until you came in! Why couldn't you just wait outside?" She finished, her face red.

Shang was speechless. "I-I, um... I'm sorry. I-I didn't realize how much it meant to you. I... I went in for my own selfish reasons and I'm sorry."

"Like what reasons? Just to follow the rules like always?! So you can keep your honor?!" She mocked as he rolled his eyes.

"For your information, I did it for something _completely_ different! I-" He realized what he was saying, and felt his confidence collapse. "I-I did it... Well..."

"Spit it out, Shang, stuttering won't make anything better!"

He had had it. " _Fine_ , Mulan. I did it because _maybe_ I didn't want you to get a match. Maybe I didn't _want_ someone else to have you because..." She looked shocked at that point but didn't speak. His expression softened and he hesitantly reached across the space between them, gently putting his hand on top of hers.

"Because I _love_ you, Mulan. I-I mean... Ever since we were at the palace and you fell from the lantern, I just..." He swallowed nervously. "I knew that there was something there. I didn't know what it was; I-I'd never actually _learned._ For a while, I had no idea why I constantly wanted to see you, or talk to you, or make you smile or hold your hand or anything! I didn't understand what made my heart beat faster around you, or what made it hard to talk to you. B-But... Now I know. I know that it's because I love you, and because each day I only love you _more_ than the last. And when your father told me you were at the Matchmaker, my heart sunk, Mulan. I went in there because _I_ wanted to be with you. I didn't want her to pair you with some other guy who would just disrespect you. I-I'm sorry."

She stared at him in awe. So many emotions were running through her head at the moment. She could feel the anger being flushed out by compassion. She hadn't expected this to be his reason in the slightest. She suddenly felt sorry for shutting him out for the last day because of her own anger; she hadn't understood why he did it until now. However, she was still slightly mad at the fact that he would ruin her chances with the Matchmaker instead of just telling her his feelings.

"Shang..." She started.

He looked at her nervously, his face redder than she'd ever seen before. He smiled slightly, until-

 _SMACK!_

He rubbed his cheek and looked at her, bewildered. He felt as though there was a red hand print on his face where she had slapped it.

"That was for the Matchmaker."

"Understandable." He said.

"But Shang, I... I love you too." The look on his face was priceless.

"R-Really? You mean it?"

She nodded, smiling slightly. "I just... I thought, and I guess I still think, you deserve better than me, and-" He quickly silenced her, putting a finger to her lips.

"Don't ever say that, okay? You are far more than I deserve and I won't let you think otherwise."

She nodded, moving his hand from her mouth.

"Well... We should maybe get going, shouldn't we?" She asked. "I mean, we've still got to stop at my home, first."

He nodded and smiled at her, both of them kicking their horses and riding off together.

* * *

 **A/N:** Alright, there you have it! You may think that now that he told her, that's the end, but this is only the beginning of what I have in mind! Thanks so much for reading, and please, please review, whether you loved it, hated it, or anything in between!


	7. Journey to Wu Zhong

Hey, this chapter took a little while just due to figuring out where to take the story from the last chapter (and I'm sooooo sorry for that!) Hopefully you guys will like it though! After this chapter, the story will start to kind of curve into the action parts of the story, but don't worry! I'll be sure to include lots romantic scenes as well. This chapter honestly took a couple of days; I wasn't sure what to leave in and take out for most of the time. At first, it was only going to be about 3,000 words, but i decided to make it longer since I've made you all wait for so long! Thank you guys so so much for reviewing and reading!

* * *

Chapter 6: The Journey to Wu Zhong

* * *

As Mulan and Shang headed back towards Mulan's house to explain their duties to her parents, there was silence. Not the kind of silence that is so awkward that it's all you can think about, but the comfortable silence you get when both people need time to be left alone with their thoughts. Even so, they both had similar thoughts running through their heads.

Thoughts of, ' _He_ loves _me_?' and 'I can't believe she loves me back.' were just a couple of them.

They rode until sunset once again, arriving at Mulan's house in good time. Wu Zhong was only a four hour ride from the Fa estate, so they could easily make it to the camp early.

When they finally arrived at the gate once again, Shang hopped off of his horse and held the gate open for her. She smirked at him and walked in, playfully rolling her eyes.

"What's so funny?" He asked her, feeling his face start to flush. He lead his horse in after her, closing the gates as she dismounted Khan.

"Nothing, it was sweet."

"Sweet." He repeated to himself, smiling slightly as she nodded and kissed his cheek.

He knew that it wasn't exactly traditional, but what could he expect from a girl who's a captain in the army? Plus, it still felt great. He brought a hand to his cheek and gently touched the spot she'd kissed, grinning at her.

Unknown to Mulan and Shang, a particular Fa Zhou had seen the short but sweet moment between the two. He cleared his throat and the two were taken out of their trances, looking at Fa Zhou awkwardly as the older man smirked knowingly. Mulan was the first to say something as she quickly turned her head around to see her father; both out of excitement and embarrassment.

"Baba!" She laughed nervously. She ran up to wrap her arms around him. "I'm glad to see you!"

"And I'm happy you're already home." He said, breaking the hug. "You two made good time." He looked at Shang, who was shifting his weight nervously and holding onto his horse's reins.

"Oh, yes, well, we made sure to not spend too much time at the palace, sir." Said Shang. He winced inside as he saw Fa Zhou looking at him with the same smirk he wore earlier. It was clear to Shang that he and Mulan's father would be having some sort of discussion about this later.

"That's good." Fa Zhou nodded. "Anyways, your mother is cooking dinner, Mulan, you two can come in and eat while we talk about what the Emperor has told you."

Shang and Mulan were both leading their horses to the stables. As Shang passed Fa Zhou, the older man smirked at him once again.

"Nice to see you, Li Shang."

"Nice to see you, too, sir."

As they parted ways, Shang was already trying to think about what to tell Fa Zhou.

Meanwhile, as Mulan was tying up Khan, she was thinking of how to tell her father that she'd be gone again.

Shang could see the obvious distress from her expression. He finished tying up his stallion and turned to her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, a concerned tone in his voice.

"I'm fine." She started, smiling sadly. "I just don't know how to tell my father that I'll already be leaving again. He'll be crushed."

"I know, but it will be okay." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled. "You'll make him very proud."

"You think so?" He nodded. She smiled at him and gave him a gentle embrace. "Thanks, Shang."

Their embrace was short-lived, as Fa Li had called them in for dinner. As they walked in, Mulan hugged and kissed her mother and grandmother, and Shang greeted them each with a kiss on their cheek just afterwards. They sat down around the table, where Fa Zhou was already sitting. As they ate their dinner, Shang once again complemented the cooking, saying that the meal is some of the best cooking he's ever had.

During a period of silence, Fa Zhou finally spoke up. "So, what did the Emperor have to say?"

"Well, Baba, he..." She started, glancing at Shang, who gave her an encouraging smile. "He's requested that we both go back to Wu Zhong to work on a new mission."

"Already?" Her father asked, stunned.

"Yes, Baba, but it's important. There are more Huns."

"I don't know, Mulan. What about when you are at the camp? You'll be the only woman among a bunch of men."

"But Baba, I'm a higher rank than them!"

"A higher rank?"

"Yes. The Emperor has already promoted me to captain, and Shang to general." Fa Zhou looked quite impressed.

"Captain, hm? Daughter, you are already doing better than I did when I was in the military. I'm very proud of you, Mulan."

Mulan smiled, and Shang gently nudged her side as a way of saying, "I told you so."

"And Shang," Fa Zhou's attention was turned to Shang, who looked up at him, "Being a general at such a young age is also very impressive. I'm sure your family is very proud."

"Thank you, and I actually haven't told them yet."

"You haven't? Are you planning to stop there on the way to camp?"

The idea had never even occurred to him.

"Well," he glanced at Mulan before looking at her father once again. "Maybe, that is, if Mulan's okay with making the extra stop."

All eyes turned to her and she smiled, nodding. "Of course I wouldn't mind."

"Well, that's great, then. I'm sure they'd love to meet you."

"Will you two need to leave tonight to get there on time?" Fa Li asked them.

"Well, we have two days. We might just spend the night here, as long as you'll have me again."

"Of course, Shang, you can stay here whenever you'd like." Mulan's mother answered with a smile.

As they all finished eating, they cleaned up the table. Once they were done, Mulan headed to her room to change out of her dress, followed by her mother and grandmother. This left Shang alone with Fa Zhou, who gestured for him to sit down.

They sat across from each other at the table, Fa Zhou smiling and Shang looking quite nervous.

"Sir, what you saw earlier..."

"You proposed to her already?"

"Well, no, but..."

Fa Zhou chuckled. "So that's why you're so nervous."

Shang didn't know how to reply. Fa Zhou decided to continue.

"Well, Li Shang, I'm sure you think showing affection like that is against tradition, but Mulan is hardly a traditional woman."

"Yes, of course."

"Plus, I don't particularly agree with the idea that it is dishonorable to show affection before marriage. After all, Mulan's mother and I married for love as well, rather than meeting through a matchmaker. I know how hard it is to not do such things."

Shang suddenly felt more comfortable, the tension in his body relaxing.

"Also, Shang, I would like to talk to you about this new mission." Shang nodded and Fa Zhou continued.

"As you know, Mulan is... Very stubborn. Of course I am going to allow her to go, but she can't know that I'm telling you this. I would like you to watch out for her while she's in the camp. Of course she has brought honor to the country, but of course there will be some men who might take advantage of her."

"You don't even have to ask, sir, I will protect her with my life."

Fa Zhou smiled at him in a fatherly matter. "I'm glad that you two are together. You clearly care about her more than any other man would."

"Absolutely. She... She means very much to me."

* * *

The next morning, just as the sun rose above the horizon, the five were outside.

Mulan hugged her parents and grandmother tight as they wished her good luck.

"Stay safe, Mulan." Her mother told her.

"I will, Mama, I'll miss you all."

After one final hug to each of them, and a goodbye from Shang, the two mounted their horses and were off.

The beginning of the ride was silent, however Mulan quickly started talking to him.

"What's your family like, Shang?"

"Well, there's my older brother Wu, he's only a couple of years older than me. There's also Bo, and he's only eight. And then there's my mother. Things are moving a little slowly, however, with my father and everything."

She nodded sadly.

"But, as I told you, they already know about you and respect you completely. I have a feeling that my younger brother is the most excited to meet you. He thinks you're amazing already."

She smiled at that. Mulan had always had a way with kids. Whether it was looking after cousins or children in the village, she always knew how to care for them, and they always seemed to like her. Before she failed her Matchmaker's test, people were always telling her that she would make a good mother. That is, if she was even able to with such a skinny body.

They arrived that afternoon. Mulan was immediately taken aback by the size of his estate. 'Rich city boy.' She thought to herself with a smile.

As they walked to the stables, Shang turned to her, sensing that she was nervous once again.

"Relax, Mulan. They'll love you."

She smiled at him sweetly before tying up Khan. Once they were both done, Shang walked her to the doors of the house. He offered his arm to her and she took it, feeling a little more confident with him by his side. He opened the door and walked through with her.

"Mama! I'm home!" He yelled. He waited a moment for a moment, listening for a reply.

"Mama? I brought Mul-" He stopped as a young boy walked in, who Mulan assumed was Shang's little brother. The boy ran towards Shang with his arms open as Shang kneeled down and opened his arms as well, scooping the boy up in his arms.

"Shang! You're back!"

"Hey, Bo!" Shang messed up Bo's hair and his younger brother embraced him. Over his shoulder, he saw Mulan and let go of Shang to look at him.

"Who's that?"

"This," said Shang, putting Bo down and putting a hand on Mulan's shoulder, "is Fa Mulan. Remember me telling you about her?"

Bo hesitated for a moment before smiling widely. "Aren't you the woman warrior?!"

Mulan kneeled down to his level, smiling at him and nodding.

"Shang told me about you. You're so cool!" He grinned. "I want to be just like you and Shang when I'm older!"

Mulan laughed and smiled at him. "Well, I'm sure you'll make a great warrior one day!"

Bo smiled at her before turning his attention to Shang once again. "I like her Shang."

"You and me both, Bo." Shang smiled down at him, glancing at Mulan for a second.

"Bo? Where's Mama?"

"She's in the village."

"She didn't leave you alone, did she?" Asked Shang, astonished.

"No, Wu is here. He's in his room I think. Want me to get him?"

"Yes. Tell him Mulan is here with me." Li Bo nodded and went off, disappearing into a hallway.

"I'm guessing Wu is your older brother?" She asked Shang.

"Yeah... He's still a bit depressed from Father's death. It's best that you don't bring it up." Mulan nodded.

Soon enough, a handsome man who looked very similar to Shang walked over to them, being led by Li Bo.

Shang smiled and walked forward to greet his brother. "Hey Wu."

"Nice to see you, Shang." They broke apart and Li Wu went over to Mulan.

"So you're the hero of China that Shang's been talking about so much?" He asked, amusedly. Mulan nodded with a polite smile.

"Well, I have no idea how you were able to pass for a man with that face." Li Wu smirked at Shang, who was giving him a death glare. Mulan just giggled at them. Wu turned back to Mulan and smiled.

"I'm Li Wu. If Shang ever gives you trouble, just tell me and I'll take care of him." Shang rolled his eyes.

"Good to know." She laughed. She turned her attention to Shang, however, when he cleared his throat.

"Well, Mulan, if we're planning to stay overnight, I can show you where you can stay for the night."

"Alright, lead the way." They walked off, Mulan waving goodbye to Shang's brothers.

"She's pretty, Wu."

"She is. It's weird that she likes _Shang._ " Said Wu in a jokingly manner. Bo laughed at his older brother.

"I wonder if he proposed yet."

* * *

Mulan was following Shang, looking around the massive house in awe. Her family was far from rich; even though Fa Zhou was a war hero, they still lived quite a humble life outside of the military.

"Sorry about my brother, by the way. He just has that kind of humor, I guess."

"Oh, don't worry about it, he's very funny." Shang rolled his eyes to himself.

Shang's older brother had always been better with women than he had. Ever since they were kids, girls would be flocking to him, leaving Shang ignored. Shang figured that it must have been because Wu would always go to bars and parties with friends while Shang would be in his room, reading and re-reading _The Art of War_. During the three weeks since Shang returned from battle, Li Wu had finally gotten engaged to a woman. She was very beautiful, no doubt, but she had no depth. She was a porcelain doll. She was, if anything, the opposite of Mulan. _Mulan._ Shang hated how his thoughts would always lead to her. At least he wasn't as nervous around her, however. He was glad to know that she returned his feelings, at least.

"Here we are." Said Shang, opening a door. She looked inside and smiled widely. It wasn't nearly as nice as the bedroom at the palace, but it was still beautiful.

"Do you like it?" He asked her.

"It's wonderful." She smiled.

"Well, good. I'm right next to you, in case you need me or anything."

There was a moment of silence. Shang decided to gently wrap his arms around her and hug her. She started to giggle, hugging him back.

"What are you doing, Shang?" She asked with a smile.

"It's been a while since I hugged you." She laughed even more, but not daring to let go of him.

"What?" He asked, amused.

"We hugged this morning."

"It's still been too long." He smiled, gently pressing a kiss to the top of her head, causing her to nuzzle him. They looked at each other and smiled, the moment being interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"That must be Mama." He said, letting go of her reluctantly. "We'd better go see her."

They walked down the hall next to each other, Shang resisting the urge to hold her hand. They got to the entrance of the house and saw Li Mei, who smiled at them. She put the food she bought on the table and hugged Shang.

"It's good to see you, Shang." Shang smiled at her mother and kissed her cheek.

"Mama, this is Fa Mulan." Shang said, gesturing to her.

Li Mei made her way over to Mulan, who was in the middle of bowing to her, and hugged the younger woman. Mulan was surprised, no doubt, but hugged her back.

"Thank you, Fa Mulan. Without you, Shang wouldn't be here right now."

Mulan smiled at her as Mei broke the hug. "Oh, well, it was just my duty as a soldier."

"Well, the fact that you did it and none of the men did certainly says something." She said, smiling. "Maybe we should just replace the men in the army with women."

Mulan liked her already.

* * *

That evening they sat around the table laughing and talking to each other. Mulan thought that the food was heavenly, though not as heavenly as her own mother's. Shang agreed; in private, of course. Mulan had instantly bonded with Shang's mother. They both had very much in common, whether it came to dress styles, politics, or anything in between the two. Mulan also admired Shang's older brother as well. Shang had told her about how close he was to his father. She couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for him to put on a happy face for her and the rest of his family. However, Mulan had already bonded the most with Li Bo. He was a strange little boy, but he loved Mulan. How could she not love him back?

She had always wanted a younger sibling, which she assumed was the reason that she was so good with kids. Li Bo was the closest thing she'd ever even had to one. He was always asking her and Shang questions about the war; even ones he already knew the answers to. This amused both Mulan and Shang, and they laughed each time he asked a question.

Later that night, when everyone was going to bed, Shang walked with Mulan to her room. Once they were in front of her door, he gently took her hands

"I love them, Shang. You come from such a fun family."

"I could say the same about you, Mulan." He chuckled.

There was a moment of silence, during which the two looked into each other's eyes.

"We... We should maybe get to bed." Said Mulan. "We have a long day tomorrow, after all."

He smiled and nodded, pulling her in for a quick hug. He kissed her forehead and smiled, not letting go of her.

"Goodnight." He murmured. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She smiled at him and let go of him, kissing his cheek in return. "Goodnight."

She walked into her bedroom and closed the door. Shang smiled and went into his room as well, wondering how on earth he was so lucky.

* * *

The sun rose too early as usual, and Mulan had to force herself out of bed. As she stood up, she felt as if she was being pulled back to bed like a magnet. She didn't even know why she was so tired. After getting dressed, she yawned and opened her door to the hallway. She wasn't even paying attention to where she was going until she bumped into a tall figure. She looked up and saw none other than Shang, and suddenly remembered why she couldn't sleep the night before.

Through the whole night, she was thinking about Shang. At this point, she didn't know how to stop thinking about him. She'd recount on memories of him, or come up with little scenarios involving him, or even just think about him as a person. She didn't know how to stop, but she guessed that that is what love was supposed to be like.

With bags under his eyes and unkempt hair, it was blatantly obvious that Shang had been thinking a lot that night as well.

* * *

After saying goodbye to Shang's family, and promising Li Bo that they'd teach him some martial arts, Mulan and Shang were riding to Wu Zhong.

"It's only a couple of hours from here. We should be there soon and have plenty of time to set up our tents and have some lunch. Afterwards, we have the camp to ourselves for the rest of the day."

She nodded and smiled at him. "That sounds great! Does that mean we still have a couple of days without Chi Fu?"

"Yes, thank the ancestors."

They arrived shortly, looking at the beautiful landscape in front of them.

"It looks so different without a bunch of tents." She said, taking her bags off of her horse.

Shang nodded. "It's actually quite beautiful when it isn't crowded."

They both took out their tent supplies and headed to the middle of the field.

"How about you pitch your tent next to mine?" Shang paused. "I mean, because you're the captain, and stuff."

Mulan smirked at him, starting to set up her tent next to him. "Alright, but _only_ because I'm the captain." She said, the sarcasm in her voice almost overwhelming.

She then, however, had a thought occur to her. She realized that once Chi Fu and the rest of the troops arrived, any affection they'd want to show to one another would have to be secret. She rolled her eyes at the thought of the lanky man running around behind her with a clipboard, telling her about how she should be cooking. She already wanted to punch him for what he said at the palace, but she realized that was only the beginning of it.

After they had both pitched their tents, they'd decided they were pretty hungry and headed down to the stream to catch fish. They caught two rather quickly, and were able to cook them with the pan Mulan had grabbed from her kitchen, just in case. They sat on two stones by the stream and ate their fish together, taughing and telling stories. Suddenly, however, Mulan remembered what she had realized before and decided to address him about it.

"Shang, Once Chi Fu gets here, I mean... What will we do? We can't even do something like this; talking and joking around, without him making a scandal out of it."

He smiled sadly and gently placed his hand atop hers. "We'll figure something out, Mulan, don't worry. There will be times where he won't be following us around like usual." ' _Hopefully._ ' "Plus, we still have a couple of days. How about we just... Deal with it when he gets here and spend the time we have together."

She smiled at him and nodded, lacing her fingers with his. She suddenly didn't care about Chi Fu.

* * *

 **A/N:** That's the end of the chapter. I liked this chapter, for the most part, but I admit I sort of ran out of creativity towards the end. Oh well. Anyways, please review, whether you liked it or not! I love hearing your opinions! I'll try and update _a lot_ during the next week or two, because I won't be able to update for most of August. Once again, thanks so much for reading!


	8. First Day

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I've been trying to get this chapter out as soon as possible, but every time I wanted to work on it, something else would pop up. I've been having a lot to go through lately in my personal life, so I haven't been finding that much time to write. However, I swear that there will be no hiatus to this story. I promised that I will get chapters out as quickly as possible before I have to leave, and I still intend to do so. I really like this story, and I have no intentions of leaving it unfinished.

In other news, the day after the last chapter came out, I uploaded a oneshot! The story was the original idea for this fanfiction - it was a bit more angsty and not as good as my ideas for this story, so I decided to not use it. However, you can read it if you'd like! It's called Letters. It won't give away anything in this story since it's completely different! There was an even more different version of this story after that, actually. Maybe someday in the future I should do something similar with it. Thoughts...?

Anyways, thank you for all of the reviews on the last chapter! :) I really hope you enjoy this one - There are finally a couple of scenes with a particular dragon...

* * *

Chapter 7: First Day

* * *

That night, Mulan and Shang stayed together in the field and lit a fire. They huddled next to it for warmth, their arms around one another. They eventually ended up lying down in the grass and watching the stars together, Shang enveloping her in his arms. They were laying there for a while in the same comfortable silence as before, as Shang addressed her.

"Mulan." He said, quietly. He felt like this was no time to use a loud voice, and he was sure she agreed.

When she didn't answer, he tried again. "Mulan?"

There was still no response, so he looked down at her and found that she was fast asleep, a small smile on her face.

His heart melted at the sight of her, and he gently kissed her cheek before scooping her up and taking her to the tent that she had pitched earlier. He set her down on her bed, which made her stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him with a smile.

"Shang?"

"Shh," he whispered, putting her blanket over her. "Go back to sleep. You fell asleep when we were outside."

She smiled and nodded sleepily, drifting off to sleep almost immediately. He laughed quietly and kissed her forehead.

"I love you." He murmured before standing up and walking outside, making sure to put out the fire before heading into his own tent for the night.

* * *

The next morning, Shang made sure Mulan was up bright and early. He, however, was up before the sun like usual. After waking up, he headed down to the same stream they were in the day before, catching a fish for each of them. After he cooked them, he quietly stepped into Mulan's tent, smiling upon seeing her. Even though their tents were right next to each other, he'd missed her during the night. He walked in slowly, kneeling by her side and looking at her as she slept.

After being lost in a trance for who knows how long, Shang gently cupped her cheek in his hand. He sighed to himself. He knew it was their last day to do anything personal with each other. Yao, Ling, and Chien Po would be arriving that day, and they wouldn't mind as much. However, the next day, Chi Fu would be arriving with the recruits. Shang wished that they could have all the time in the world together, but deep down, he knew they wouldn't be able to. He sighed once again, leaning in to gently kiss her cheek. She stirred at this, her eyes half-opening.

"Good morning, Shang." She said, stretching and smiling at him.

"Good morning, beautiful." She blushed and giggled at him, gently pushing him away from her so she could sit up.

"When do you think they'll get here?"

"Well," Shang started, "I'd say that I'd expect them to arrive an hour or so before noon like we did, but knowing them they'd probably have some... Distractions."

She laughed and nudged him a bit, standing up and stretching. As she stood, he did as well. Before she could step out of the tent, however, he stepped in front of her.

"Wait!" He stopped her as she looked at him quizzically. He smiled and opened the flap for her, showing her the fish he'd made.

"I made us breakfast." He smiled.

She giggled and got on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, _General_." He grinned even wider at that as he went to go sit down with her.

* * *

In the afternoon, Mulan and Shang finally heard their three friends ride into the camp, Yao and Ling arguing like usual.

"It's _obviously_ your fault!" They heard Ling shout.

"My fault?" replied Yao, his face turning redder by the second. "You were able to drive her away yourself with just a couple words coming from your mouth!"

"Well _you_ were the one who-" Ling was pointing gesturing to Yao as he hopped off of his horse, however he stopped talking when he saw Mulan and Shang standing in front of him and his two friends. He smiled sheepishly at first, however after the three of them had tied up their horses, the Gang gave Mulan a tight group hug, just like they did the last time they her. Once they broke the hug, all five of them started to catch up with each other, talking about anything interesting that had happened during their leave. Ling and Yao started to explain that there was a strikingly beautiful girl they'd met on the way to camp, though she was quite repulsed by them. Mulan guessed that that was what they were arguing about when they arrived.

The day quickly turned to night. However, the three were still sitting around a fire, telling stories and becoming reacquainted. Once it got even later, Mulan stood up.

"I think I'm going to go bathe." She said. "I'll be back in a little while." With that, she walked off. Really, though, she didn't feel as though she needed to bathe at all. She realized that she was closer friends with the gang than Shang was, and she figured that they needed to have time to bond with each other more. She walked down to the lake and, instead of bathing, just sitting by the water.

She started to think about the mission. _Double-agents?_ She didn't know what to do in terms of coming up with a plan. Not only would they have to find out who the rebels were, but they would also have to battle another Hun army. She sighed and dipped her toes into the water, calming down at the soothing feeling of the lake. 'Shang's got to have a plan already.' She thought. She laid down in the grass and looked up at the sky.

The previous night, Shang had told her about all of the stars, and the stories of the constellations they made. His father had apparently taught him all about them when Shang was young. According to Shang, his father had hung the moon. She'd heard from her father, and even the Emperor, that Shang was very much like his father. However, even with how much Shang seemed to appreciate his father, he still says that his older brother cared for the late general more than anyone in the family. This made some sense to Mulan; Li Wu being the oldest child must have meant that he'd had the most time to bond with his father out of the three.

Mulan had met General Li on more than one occasion. She remembered being a little girl, no older than ten, when he brought one of his sons along with him. He was a few years older than Mulan, but she could not remember if it had been Shang or his older brother. She also remembered her father telling her that the general had had a third son, but Mulan didn't pay much mind to it. The general was more her father's friend than her's, anyways.

Mulan had heard many stories about her father. Some from him, and some from others who looked up to him. Apparently, Fa Zhou and General Li had made quite the pair before Fa Zhou retired. She could clearly remember the day that her father came home from battle, his leg nearly shredded. Doctors had, miraculously, been able to save it, but she couldn't forget the sadness she had sensed from her father when he was told that he was unfit to fight from then on. Growing up, Mulan had never known why her father enjoyed being in the army. The only thing she could picture about war back then was dead bodies and barbarians with no mercy. However, after her own experience, she realized that there was some fun to it. After all, she'd met the best friends she'd ever had, not to mention Shang, who she loved unconditionally.

* * *

While Mulan was 'bathing,' the gang sat with Shang. Once she was out of earshot, Yao finally spoke up about what the three had been wondering ever since Shang left the palace weeks ago.

"So, pretty boy, did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Shang asked, trying to avoid the topic.

"You know what we mean, Shang!" Said Ling.

"That you love Mulan." Completed Chien Po.

"Oh, right..." Said Shang, giving in. He told them about everything that had happened with her since the moment he arrived at her house to 'return her helmet.'

"Well at _least_ you finally told her, pretty boy!" Exclaimed Yao.

"Yeah, I thought you were never going to tell her!" Said Ling.

"I guess." Shang said, a smirk on his face. "I was surprised she felt the same way."

"Oh, please, you two are perfect for each other!" Yao said.

"You two do seem very compatible, but you better feel lucky to have someone like her." Chien Po said, nudging Shang's side.

Shang smiled at him. However, his smile quickly faded, and his expression turned serious. "Listen, tomorrow, you guys can't tell anyone about Mulan and I. Chi Fu will _kill_ us if he finds out."

"Don't worry, general, we've got you!" Said Ling, smiling and winking at him. Shang rolled his eyes.

Mulan came back after a little while, and they talked for another hour or so before they all retired to their tents.

* * *

Shang woke up early the next morning. What he didn't expect, however, was to see Chi Fu riding in on his horse. He groaned.

"Son of a..." He muttered to himself. He quickly ran and woke up the three officers, who got ready as quick as possible. He then went to Mulan's tent and gently woke her as well.

"Mulan, wake up." He said, giving her a gentle shake. She rolled over, making him sigh.

"Mulan, Chi Fu's here."

" _What?"_ She asked, jumping out of her sleeping position and shooing Shang out of her tent. She was ready in less than a minute, it seemed.

As she ran through the tent flaps, Shang gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down, Mulan, he's still putting his horse away." Mulan sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Why does he even have to _be_ here, Shang?" She looked down, beyond annoyed.

"I don't know." He started. He gently lifted her chin up to look at him and smiled mischievously. "But I _do_ know that I'll make him regret any trouble he gives you."

She laughed and they both began to walk over to Chi Fu. Along the way, they joined the gang of three, who seemed just as annoyed as they did.

When they arrived outside of the stables, Chi Fu walked out, his eyes falling upon Shang first.

"Good morning, _General."_ He said, mockingly.

Shang was surprised. Not at the fact that Chi Fu would do something like that, of course. Shang figured he'd be doing things such as that during the whole mission. He was surprised at the fact that Chi Fu would get such a massive eye-roll out of him in mere seconds.

Chi Fu then looked at the officers and only scoffed, rolling his own eyes. His gaze finally stopped at Mulan.

" _She's_ back here?" The man asked. "Does the Emperor know about this?"

Shang was about to start talking to Chi Fu, anger in his eyes. However, Mulan put a hand in front of him to quiet him. Mulan then took a step towards Chi Fu.

"The Emperor has _requested_ I return, actually."

Chi Fu looked at her incredulously. "Is he out of his _mind?_ "

Now, Shang couldn't resist. "LISTEN, Chi-Fu," he started, grabbing the man by his shirt. "She is a _captain_ , now. You will treat her with _respect_."

Shang dropped him and rolled his eyes. "Captain Fa, officers," he addressed, "report to my tent in five minutes. We have business to discuss before the recruits arrive."

It was crazy how fast Shang could change to 'General Mode.' The young man walked to his tent, leaving Chi Fu with the four of them. Chi Fu simply turned his head to the side and sneered. Chien Po, Ling, Yao, and Mulan walked off, however Chi Fu grabbed Mulan's wrist before she could get away.

"Don't think I won't be watching you, _woman_. You should know that the army is no place for _whores_." Mulan's eyes widened in anger at this. She yanked her arm away from him and ran back to Shang's tent.

Mulan opened the flap, her face red with anger. "Shang, I _hate_ him! He's so-"

She stopped and looked at Shang. He was concentrated on a map in the center of his desk. She doubted he even noticed her. Mulan walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Shang?" He turned around and looked at her, sternly.

"Captain," he said, "where are the officers?"

Mulan was obviously hurt by this. The officers? She couldn't believe that he was still going to stay like that when they were in private together.

"I don't know." She answered. He looked back at his map and sighed. Mulan stood behind him awkwardly. After a minute or two of this, she spoke up once again.

"Shang, must we still stay on such formal terms when we're alone?"

He looked back at her and thought for a moment. "I... I think it's best if we just focus on the mission for now."

* * *

After the Gang arrived, Shang had explained the training to them. He handed them each scrolls, which explained the training schedule. It told them when training would be, what they'd be doing, and where they'd be doing it. They would all be training recruits together, rather than splitting up into smaller groups, so the recruits would all have similar fighting styles and techniques. Also, he didn't trust Ling and Yao to have their own groups of recruits. Mulan immediately read hers the moment she received it.

Once dismissed, Mulan went into her tent. She sat on the edge of her bed, which was more than a mat on the floor like last time, and sighed.

Why would Shang say something like that? He had just told her that he'd try to be with her, even with Chi Fu around? What had changed? She kept asking herself these questions, starting to fear she'd done something wrong. Why did he refer to her as captain? He'd never done so before.

She was snapped out of her thoughts, however, by a strange voice in the tent.

"Quit worrying about Pretty boy, you don't need him!" It said.

Mulan smirked and looked around. "Mushu?"

The red 'dragon' popped out in front of her, smiling back at her. "Of course. You think I'd let my baby go to war without me?"

"What about the lucky cricket?" Mulan asked.

"So now you think I'd leave people behind?" Mushu said as the cricket hopped over to him, the small dragon pretending to be offended. She laughed even more. However, she stopped as soon as she heard someone approaching her tent. Mushu quickly hid in Mulan's shirt collar before Yao walked into her tent.

"The recruits are starting to get here. Pretty boy wants us to get out there." He said. Did everyone call Shang Pretty boy?

As Mulan and Yao joined the rest of the group outside. Chi Fu was checking the conscription notices of each of the new recruits. They watched as the recruits filed in; some returning, some new.

Shang turned to the four of them and took a deep breath. "I expect that you all read your scrolls?"

Everyone nodded, and Shang nodded back. "Good. We should all have something to eat before the rest of the recruits arrive." Once again, the rest of them nodded at him.

"I'll be there in a little bit, I've got to check in with Chi Fu to see how many more recruits we are expecting." With that, Shang walked off, leaving Mulan and the Gang to get food.

Once Shang was out of earshot, Ling whispered to the rest of them. "What happened to _him?_ I knew he'd get like that, but I didn't realize how strict he'd be about it."

"Yeah." Said Mulan, looking at Shang's retreating figure.

* * *

Shang had had it with Chi Fu. The man had arrived minutes ago, and he'd _already_ insulted Mulan.

" _She's_ back here?" The man asked. "Does the Emperor know about this?"

The moment he said that, Shang wanted to beat him up _already._ He was about to say something, which he was sure Chi Fu would put in his notes, before Mulan hushed him. Shang sighed. Where would he be without her? He couldn't believe that not long ago, Shang was busy keeping her in check. Now _she_ was the one making sure that he didn't get in any sort of trouble.

She defended herself in a passive-aggressive tone, which Shang admired. "The Emperor has _requested_ I return, actually."

Shang looked to Chi Fu, whose jaw had just hit the floor. "Is he out of his _mind?_ "

It was already too much for Shang to bear. He had so much to say to Chi Fu.

 _'Do you have any idea who you're talking to?'_

 _'She saved your ass, you should be grateful.'_

 _'She's a better person than you could be in a million lifetimes.'_

 _'She's never done anything to you. You're just afraid of her.'_

Shang approached the weak man and took him by the collar. "LISTEN, Chi Fu," He started. He could see Mulan cringing, right next to the Gang of three, who were silently cheering him on.

"She is a _captain_ , now. You will treat her with _respect."_

After Shang let go of the man, he gave the rest of them orders to meet him in his tent shortly. As he walked away with the Gang, he saw Mulan being held back in the corner of his eye. Yao, Ling, and Chien Po didn't seem to notice, as they all went off to their tents. However, Shang turned around, watching the scene unfold.

As he saw Chi Fu take her arm, he wanted so badly to jump up and attack him. However, Shang restrained himself. He knew that Mulan would look down upon that, and he also wanted to see if she could handle a situation with Chi Fu in case he wasn't around to help her.

When he heard the words that came out of Chi Fu's voice, however, he felt himself crumble.

"Don't think I won't be watching you, _woman_. You should know that the army is no place for _whores_."

Shang quickly ran into his tent as soon as he saw that Mulan was safe. He sat down at his desk and started to ponder to himself.

'I can't be with her casually. Not when we're here, at least. Chi Fu would just spread rumors about her. He'd do anything to get her kicked out. I don't want her to go through that. I can't let her go through that on top of everything else.'

She walked in yelling, and rightfully so. Shang would do anything to go outside and shove his sword through Chi Fu's heart for what he said to her. He didn't acknowledge her, however. He was too lost in his own thoughts to notice her. Finally, he snapped out of his trance when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He looked her in the eyes for less than a second and almost melted at the sight of them. He quickly looked away, making sure to avoid eye contact with her.

He wished that he could tell her what he was thinking about Chi Fu. Why he couldn't be so casual with her. He knew she was right before, about how they would have to be slightly more formal with one another. However, now that it was reality, he swore to himself that he would try his hardest to be professional around her so Chi Fu, nor anyone else, could hurt her with rumors.

* * *

The five of them ate in silence. Not the comfortable kind in which everyone needs to be alone with their thoughts, but the kind that you could sense.

Mulan was, to her own shock, relieved when Chi Fu walked into the tent and broke that silence.

"General, the recruits have all arrived and are ready to train." Shang nodded.

They all quickly finished their rice and headed outside.

Upon stepping outside, they saw absolute madness. Some men were having loud conversations, others were brawling, and very few were actually trying to be quiet and respectful.

Mulan felt herself cringe. Was this how Shang felt when she arrived?

Shang, however, kept calm and stepped forward, as if it were a routine.

" _SOLDIERS!"_ He yelled. Mulan felt a pang of deja vu and smiled to herself. 'We've got a _long_ way to go.'

"Sweet ancestors," she heard Mushu mutter. "Pretty boy is _loud."_ This made her smile even wider, but she still reached back to hush Mushu so nobody could hear him.

The men looked at Shang, most of them just dismissing him and going back to their conversations. Shang rolled his eyes.

Shang kept yelling at them, looking more ridiculous each time he did so. Finally, Mulan stepped forward and took an arrow out of her quiver. Using the bow she had tied to her sash, she aimed the arrow at the recruits. One of the men pointed to her and shouted.

"She's going to shoot!" He yelled. The rest of them stopped their conversations and brawls and finally payed attention. Shang glanced at her before stepping towards the soldiers once again.

"You _boys_ will listen when you are spoken to." They nodded. "You're lucky Captain Fa didn't have to shoot."

" _Captain?"_ One of them asked. Shang whipped his head around to the man who said it. He groaned. He was one of the men that had been fighting. Just from observing the recruits, Shang had learned that his name was Wei Fan. Shang could tell that he would be the troublemaker of the group.

Shang walked towards him, towering over the young man as he did. He seemed to be about Mulan's age, maybe slightly older.

"Is there something wrong with Captain Fa being a Captain?"

"Well- I-" He answered. Shang rolled his eyes and walked back to face the troops. "Captain Fa is of a higher rank than any of you. You will treat her with just as much respect as you will treat me. Understand?"

All of the new recruits nodded.

Shang went about explaining training to the recruits and introducing the officers. Once they were dismissed for the evening, Everybody went into their own tents, except for Mulan, who went to find Wen Fan.

When she found him pitching his tent, she looked at him, confusedly.

"Fan?" She asked. He turned around and gasped.

"Mulan! I... I'm sorry for what I said earlier. It wasn't that I have a problem with you being a captain, I just didn't expect it."

Mulan smiled and waved dismissively at the boy she had grown up with. The Wen family lived across from the Fa's. Mulan would spend her days playing with Fan as a child. As teenagers, they were even closer. Mulan had always seen Fan as her best friend. When she came home from serving the army for the first time, she had spent time with him after Shang left her house. She'd had to leave suddenly, however, when she was summoned once again. She had no chance to say goodbye to him beforehand. However, a thought popped into her head.

"Why are you serving instead of your father?"

"He's recently fallen ill." He answered. Mulan nodded understandingly.

"I hope he feels better, soon."

"Yeah, it's been hard." He said. Wanting to change the subject, Fan smiled at her. "The general is tough, hm? I had a feeling he was going to beat me."

Mulan laughed and nodded. "He can be, but I've seen him be friendly before. He just takes the military... _Really seriously._ "

Fan laughed as well. They talked for another few minutes before she dismissed herself to her tent for the night.

As Mulan laid down in her bed for the night, she could remember Shang's words from her first visit to Wu Zong.

 _''Tomorrow, the real work begins."_

* * *

 **A/N:** Yes, I finally included Mushu! But, he's not the person I'm talking about in the (~New and updated~) description! You'll find that out soon enough, though ;)

As always, thanks for reading, and please review! Hearing from readers is easily my favorite part of having a fanfic on this site! Hope you enjoyed, and have a nice day! :)


	9. Training

Hello! :) Thanks once again for all of the reviews and feedback on the last chapter! Since it's been quite a while, I'll reply to some of them!

 **Meel Jacques:** Ahhh thank you so so so much for all of your reviews~! And yeah, in this chapter, a certain _someone_ is going to find out that Mulan and Fan pretty much grew up together. I guess you'll see how he takes it ;)

 **RosexDoctorForever:** Thank you so much, you're so sweet omg

 **The Cat Charmer:** I know right? He's such a jerk. I wish I could strangle him myself.

 **Kagamine Arimonori:** Thank you :) (I'd do a heart but ff doesn't let you, apparently.)

 **AussieGirl16:** Thanks so much! Expect as many updates as I can do in the next week!

 **pistonsfan75:** I know. It's a shame that there have always been people like Chi Fu. But yes, Shang just wants to protect her, but how will keeping his distance work out with this new recruit? Mwahaha.

As always, thanks so much for reading and continuing to read and follow the story! I appreciate all of you so much! :)

* * *

Chapter 8: Training

* * *

Mulan woke up early, quickly getting dressed and stepping outside. The camp was still quiet and barren. She realized how early it was when she looked at the position of the sun and realized that even Shang must not be awake yet. She looked around, though she stopped when she saw a figure sitting by the lake. She walked down to him, realizing that it was Fan. She came up behind him and tapped his shoulder, looking at him with a smile.

"Hey, Fan." He said. "Can I join you?"

He smiled up at her and nodded. "Yeah, of course."

The two caught up with each other even more, now that they had more time to. They joked about people they knew, especially a particular Chi Fu, told each other stories, and remembered experiences they had had together as children. Mulan was elated to have another friend at camp with her, especially with Shang acting so harshly towards her all of the sudden.

* * *

Shang woke up early as well, squinting as the sunlight entered his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck and sat up. After a minute of rubbing his eyes and stretching out a bit, he stood up and got dressed for the day. As he stepped outside, he didn't expect to see Mulan awake, let alone see her laughing at something with Wen Fan. He stayed back for a few minutes, watching them talk. He started to feel a pang of jealousy, however he quickly dismissed it.

'No. She loves _me._ She said she did. Doesn't she?'

Shang had a feeling that deep down, it was his fault. He knew that he should have at least talked to her before ignoring her, or at least not showing her affection as he used to. After a little while of watching them talk and laugh with each other, Shang could hardly take it anymore. He walked up behind her and gently tapped her shoulder. She stopped laughing and looked back at him, a smile still on her face.

"Captain, we have to start setting up the training exercises for today." It was a lame excuse, but it wasn't a lie. He could see her smile vanish as he called her captain, and he realized he'd made a mistake. Still, he didn't say anything as she nodded at him and said goodbye to Wen Fan.

They walked away in silence, Shang leading her to the field after she retrieved her bow, quiver, arrows, and sword from her tent. Once they were in the center of the tents, where the recruits line up each morning, Mulan smiled to herself. She remembered her first morning at camp so clearly. Every word said that morning was still in her memory. What she remembered the most, however, was the exercise with the pole and arrow. She looked up at the abandoned pole and aimed her bow at it, pulling an arrow out of her quiver and shooting the top of the pole. Shang turned around to her at the sound, alarmed at first, but smiling as he realized what she did.

He wanted to talk to her. To tell her that he was sorry and that he was only trying to protect her. He kept trying to think of the right words to say, but he just couldn't come up with them. He sighed to himself with defeat and turned to her.

"Um, we should go set up archery. The materials we need are there, we've just got to hang the targets." She nodded at him, looking as hurt as she did before. However, she followed along with him.

They finished just as the recruits were waking up and getting breakfast. Shang and Mulan met up with the Gang of three and talked to them during the meal, Shang explaining the plans for the morning. They joked around for just a bit, however Shang and Mulan still had an obvious distance. The gang quickly noticed it. Once they had all left to clean up their things, the three silently agreed to confront Shang about it. They considered themselves to be Shang's 'Guardian Angels' when it came to Mulan. And, as much as he didn't want to admit it, Shang knew that they were right in a sense. Shang wouldn't know what to do if it weren't for his friends.

* * *

After everyone had finished putting away their dirty dishes, Shang stood in front of the line of soldiers. However, this time around, he was more confident with four others to help him train the soldiers.

He reintroduced Mulan and the Gang once more before glancing up at the arrow Mulan had shot on the pole.

"Now soldiers, as you know, these next weeks will be very hard for all of you. However, you should be honored to fight for your country and your families." The recruits nodded at him.

"Our first exercise will be a challenge, as you should expect. Fa Mulan will help me demonstrate." She smiled and stepped forward as Shang took out 'Discipline' and 'Strength' and handed them both to her.

There were a few scoffs among the recruits, and some of them even laughed. Still, Shang and Mulan stayed composed. Before climbing, Mulan looked at each of the recruits.

"Is there something funny?" She asked. Her tone wasn't stern, however. It was calm and tranquil. The men rolled their eyes at her, which only made her smile. Mulan glanced at Shang quickly before approaching one of the recruits who was laughing at her. She knew this man's name already just from hearing side chatter among the recruits.

"Luo Fu," she addressed him. He stopped laughing and looked at her with an annoyed expression on his face. "Why don't you stand closer to me. You're going next."

He groaned and stepped towards her as she made her way back to the pole. She began to climb up, managing to make it to the top very quickly. After a moment or two, she slid back down and handed the weights to Luo Fu.

"Your turn, soldier." She said. He cracked his knuckles and attempted to climb the pole, however he couldn't even make it a quarter of the way up. He fell on his back and rubbed it, sitting up slowly and handing her the weights.

Mulan still smiled at him and took his hand, helping him up. He smiled at her and bowed, which was his form of apologizing. As she watched him rejoin his peers, she could tell that she had gained more of the soldier's respects.

Shang smiled at her during the whole demonstration. He admired her so much and wished he could just kiss her in front of all of the recruits. He refrained, however, and instead turned to the rest of the recruits. However, he did put a hand on Mulan's shoulder as she came up next to him.

"As you can see, Fa Mulan simply makes it look easy. However, it's obviously not going to be for the rest of you." They nodded.

The day was filled with strenuous training in the sun, and the soldiers were soon tired. Shang dismissed them all for the night, and they all headed into their tents to rest for a while. Shang came up behind Mulan and tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, uh," He said as she turned around. "Nice job today, captain."

She faked a smile and nodded. "Thanks, general. You did well, too." With that, she walked into her tent, leaving him standing there with regret.

* * *

Once in her tent, Mulan let out all of her frustration from the last two days by throwing her sword on the floor, which made Mushu quite alarmed.

"What was _that_ for?" He asked. "I was trying to get some sleep!"

"Shang's being an _ass._ " She said, pacing back and forth in the room. "I don't see what's wrong with him!"

"What's pretty boy been doing to you?" He asked her. "I swear, I'll torch him if he hurts you." He was about to walk out of the tent before Mulan lunged for him.

"No, don't!" She said, grabbing him in her hand.

"Why not?" Mushu asked, quite annoyed that she had stopped him.

"Because I still _care_ about him, Mushu! I just don't know what's wrong."

"Then why don't you just _talk_ to him. I've seen you two before, you both care about each other! All you need to do is talk!"

"I just don't know what to say to him." She said, letting go of him and sitting down. She took a breath as Mushu patted her shoulder to comfort her.

"Just tell him what's on your mind. He'll understand."

* * *

Mulan walked out of her tent after a short rest. The first person she saw was Wen Fan. She waved to him, and he walked over.

"Hey, Fan. Good job today."

"Thanks," he said, smiling. "You did okay, too." She smirked and punched his side.

"Where are you off to?" He asked her.

"Oh, I... I'm going to talk to General Li about... Military strategy."

Wen Fan raised his eyebrow. "Military strategy?" He asked her.

"Yes! Honestly, Fan, we're both military officials, what else would we discuss?"

"Uh huh..." He said, confused. However, he shrugged it off and smiled at her once again. "Well, have fun! I'm pretty sure he's in his tent."

Mulan nodded and thanked him before walking over to Shang's tent. She said his name before lifting the tent flap and stepping inside.

"Shang?" She asked. However, there was no sight of Shang. Instead, she saw Chi Fu, who appeared to be looking over the maps in Shang's tent. He turned around to face her quickly, and she took an intimidating step towards him.

"What are you doing in the General's tent?" She asked him.

"I..."

"Don't you have your own map or something in your own tent?"

"Well, the..."

" _Don't_ you?" She asked once again, moving closer to him.

There was a pause, and Chi Fu stood up taller than her, clearing his throat. He pushed her away, causing a surprised, angry expression to find it's way to her face.

"This is none of your concern, lowly _whore_. Shouldn't you be outside ' _entertaining_ ' the real soldiers?"

Mulan was astonished, to say the least. She stormed out of the tent, trying to find Shang somewhere among the soldiers. She finally did find him, sitting around a fire with the Gang of three.

* * *

As Shang walked out of his tent after resting for a few minutes, he immediately saw the Gang in front of him, staring him down coldly.

"What's the matter?" He asked them, genuinely confused.

"What in the world have you been doing to Mulan?" Yao asked, getting closer to him and staring right at him with his good eye.

"Yao's right. There's _obviously_ something wrong. I've never seen her act so sad and quiet around you."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Shang. "When was she sad or quiet?"

Chien Po stepped forward. "At breakfast, when you complimented her for climbing the pole, during the rest of training,-"

Shang cut him off. "She was just being serious because we were in front of the recruits."

"Bullshit." Said Yao. Shang was about to reprimand him before he spoke up once again. "Even around other soldiers she's usually still _happy_."

"Well..."

"What did you _do_ to her, _General_?"

So the four of them sat down and got food while Shang explained himself. He told them all about how he overheard Chi Fu talking to her, and how he didn't want to put her reputation at risk.

"Did you at least talk to her about it first?" Asked Chien Po.

"Of course he did," Ling answered for him, "He's not an _idiot_. Right, Shang?"

"Uhm..." He hesitated. He saw Yao drop his chopsticks in awe, and he shook his head.

"No." He answered. "I just... I don't know what to do around her, I guess. I can never do anything _right_ with her. I thought that it was a good way to protect her, but..."

"You're not even taking her feelings into consideration!" Yao said. "Don't you know how hurt she must feel?"

It took Shang a moment to respond. He put his bowl down and sighed, putting his face into his hands.

"What have I done..." He asked himself quietly. "I've been such a jerk to her and I didn't even _realize it!"_

There was a pause, and Ling gently put his arm around him in a comforting manner.

"And," Shang started, "It doesn't help that she's spending all of her time with that one recruit."

"Are you actually _jealous_ of him?" Yao laughed. "You're much stronger and better-looking than he is!"

Shang glared at him. "But even you know that Mulan doesn't care about that. She cares about what kind of person somebody is. And, honestly, I feel hat I've been a worse person to her than he has for the last couple of days."

There was no response to that. Shang was simply right.

"Shang, why don't you go talk to her. She may still understand." Said Chien Po. Shang sat up and sighed.

"I guess so, I just wish I knew what to say. She's really important to me, but-"

"Shang!" Said a female voice. He immediately knew who it was, but he didn't know if he was ready to talk to her yet. She finally got to him and stopped in front of him.

"We have to speak in private, Shang. It's about-"

"Don't mind us." Yao said, smirking, "We'll leave you two alone." The three of them walked away, smiling at Shang.

"No, wait," Mulan said, "It's not about-"

"We should get away from everyone for a moment, if it has to be in private." She was about to say something, but nodded.

They walked together, Shang wanting to show her affection by taking her hand, but he knew that he should only do that when they were away from everyone else.

Once they got far enough, they were on the side of the lake which was far away from everyone else. They were also concealed by a few trees. He was thankful that it would also be harder to see them both since the sun had gone down. He turned to her and sighed, trying to muster up some courage to apologize to her.

"Mulan,"

"Shang," They both started at the same time. Shang politely allowed her to speak first.

"Shang, I think Chi Fu is up to something. I was looking for you earlier and he was in your tent. I think he was messing with your maps or something, because when I asked him about it, he'd just insult me and not answer my questions."

Shang was a little disappointed that she wasn't talking about the same thing he was going to talk to her about. However, the feeling was taken over by anger and confusion. Anger because of the fact that Chi Fu had insulted her once again, and confusion as to why he would be going through his maps.

"That is strange," He nodded. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Not really. He just pushed me."

Shang sighed. "Mulan, if he pushes you, don't be afraid to push him back."

Mulan smiled at the fact that he used her name once again instead of her title. There was a short pause before she started talking again.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, it's just..." He tried to think of what he wanted to say to her.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"Well, I'm... I'm sorry I've been... Distant, for the past few days." He paused. "I just... I had heard what Chi Fu said to you. After the four of us left him alone. I noticed that he'd grabbed your arm and I'd noticed what he said to you. And, honestly..." He took her hand in his. "I didn't want Chi Fu to have a reason to spread rumors about... You and me."

"Well, Shang, he's not going to have any if we talk to each other. I mean, we haven't been talking at all since he arrived."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I should have talked to you first before distancing myself. But all I wanted to do was protect you."

Mulan smiled sweetly. "I know, and thank you. But you didn't have to completely shut me out."

"I know." He looked down. She smiled and gently lifted his face with her fingertips. They both smiled at each other and Shang wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She hugged him back and both of them were happy. They held hands as they were walking back to rejoined the soldiers, but were sure to let go once they were able to be seen. As they came back, Mulan saw Fan walking towards them and smiled.

"I see you found Shang?" He asked her.

"Actually, he wasn't in his tent, _smart one_." She elbowed him lightly. She then turned to Shang with a smile.

"Wen Fan and I grew up together." Shang nodded.

"Yeah, she's been a _pain_ ever since we were little." Fan smirked as Mulan shoved him playfully.

Shang already disliked him more than he had before. However, he was at least happy that he knew why they were always spending time together.

"Well, it's good that Captain Fa has another friend with her." Shang said, in the nicest tone possible.

"Oh, Shang, I could have better than him." She said.

Fan rolled his eyes. "Like the Matchmaker?"

Mulan fake-laughed and kicked his leg.

Though they were teasing each other, Shang could still tell that they had a lot of chemistry. Though he knew that Mulan loved him, Shang couldn't help but feel jealous of Fan. He just hoped that he could contain his jealousy while he was around the two of them.

* * *

That's it! Thanks so much for reading! I doubt I'll be able to get another chapter out before I leave, but it will only be about a week or so before I can start writing again. I will, however, brainstorm what the next chapters will be about so I can write them quickly! Thanks so much for reading it! :)


	10. Stress

Hello hello! After my long trek from the last couple of weeks of the summer and into the first week or two of school, I'm finally back! I came back to learn that my traffic viewers aren't working, and instead are saying that I've gotten zero views for the past week or so (even though I've gotten favorites/follows/reviews in the past week). If anyone is either having this problem or knows how to deal with it, **PLEASE PM ME!** I'd be really really grateful. Either way, I'm sure none of you want to listen to me ramble on here any longer since I've left you waiting so long without a new chapter, but one more announcement! I wrote another story that's REALLY short. About a thousand words. But it's just another one-shot I thought of while I was gone. ( _Please_ _Read: I've been lacking in inspiration, lately. It's taken me much longer to even get this chapter started. Don't worry, I'm not going to stop the story or anything, but there might be longer pauses between chapters. How much longer? I can't say. At this point I'd just guess that chapters could come any time from 1-4 weeks apart. But I won't leave you waiting for too long. I guess I just have to pull myself together. The other reason that chapters might be delayed is school. I know school shouldn't run my life or anything, but I do need a good GPA. I'm really sorry to anyone who waits on the edge of their seat for chapters or anything, but please please be patient with me, is all I'm asking for. That being said, thank you so much to everyone who has stuck with me through this story, and who will continue to, even if chapters won't be as frequent for a while. I'm not saying that this pause will last forever, or anything,but it will be a while until I get settled. Hope you guys understand.)_

 _**Disclaimer: Don't own Mulan, or the characters in the story (Except for the ones who aren't in the movie)_

* * *

Chapter 9: Stress

* * *

Mulan and Shang were glad to be free of drama between them. They both knew that they loved each other, so there was really no reason for drama at the time. However, Shang still couldn't help feel somewhat jealous of Fan. The fact that they grew up together made Shang realize that they have much more history than he and Mulan have together. Each time Shang saw the two of them together, he couldn't help but be afraid that Mulan would someday pick Fan over himself. He knew he was being paranoid deep down, but he didn't know what to do with himself. She'd always be laughing with him during training, and talking to him during meals. However, she'd still give Shang enough attention as possible. He realized that he might have been overreacting a bit. After calming down, he wanted to say goodnight to Mulan before they each went into their tents for the night.

And as he walked outside, he could see her being held in his embrace.

* * *

Mulan was exhausted. She had no idea that training recruits was just as challenging as going through the training herself. She was on the way to her tent when Wen Fan came up to her. She was still catching her breath from running with the weights over her shoulders, but she still smiled when he came over.

"Good work, Fan. Maybe one day you'll be able to beat me." She said. She had to admit that among all of the recruits, Fan was proving to be the most talented. He was must faster and stronger than the other recruits, and much more agile.

Fan laughed to himself. It wasn't his usual, hearty laugh, though. It was more timid. "Well, I really doubt that." He said.

She smiled at him. "So, what's going on?"

"Oh, not much, really. I've just..." He paused. "I'm really happy you're here, Mulan. You've made things much better than if not."

Mulan smiled and wrapped her arms around him. Even though it wasn't traditional (and highly frowned upon) for an unmarried man and woman to show affection, Mulan and Fan had never minded. They'd always been affectionate towards each other, after all. Ever since they were kids, the two had not had much trouble talking about feelings with one another. They had started considering the other their best friend since they were only five years old. It was obvious that Mulan admired him greatly, and that he held her in higher regard than anyone else. As they hugged, the two were unaware of Shang standing just behind Mulan.

* * *

As the weeks went on, the recruits were gradually getting better. However, they hadn't had their "Ping Moment," as Shang liked to call it, yet. They could fight, but overall they were just average at best. The amount of stress was clearly putting a damper on Shang, Mulan could tell. Oftentimes she'd see him trudge into his tent from exhaustion and collapse onto his bed. He was more distant, and would often be rubbing his head from the headaches that most days brought him. It was also clear to Mulan that Shang's mood seemed to reflect upon the soldiers, as well. They wouldn't be having as much fun as they used to be. Of course, it was an army camp; it wasn't like a child's birthday party or anything, it wasn't supposed to be fun. But still, even the regiment that Mulan trained with was much more relaxed during training.

There was one night when Shang seemed even more stressed than normal. Mulan had curiously followed him towards his tent. When she walked in, however, she heard a loud bang, followed by a curse word.

She ran in, worried that he'd done something stupid. She saw him sitting on the ground, clutching his foot.

"Shang?" She asked, with more confusion than concern. "What happened?"

"Oh, I..." He clutched his foot in pain. He had kicked the small table in his tent, which was much stronger than he had thought it was. "Nothing, don't worry about it. I just... Dropped something, yes. On my foot..."

She looked at him questioningly for a moment, but seemed to dismiss it as she realized that he was alright. She sat down next to him on the ground and cocked her head to the side.

"Are you okay?"

Shang sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before turning to her. He wore a half-hearted smile and nodded with his hand still on his neck. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well it doesn't really seem like it."

"It's just the recruits. It was much easier while I was training you, honestly. These men are so immature." It wasn't the recruits, though. It was Mulan and Fan. She's been spending all of his time with him. She hadn't talked to Shang in a while other than talking about the training.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "I know. But it will get better soon, I'm sure."

Shang smiled and placed his hand over hers for a moment before moving it, and placing his head in his hands instead.

"Hey," She said, nudging his side with hers. "Why don't you try doing something to take your mind off of things for a bit?"

"Like what?" He asked, his face still in his hands. He sat up and took out his topknot, running his hands through his hair. "There's not really much to do here."

"Then why," She paused, taking one of his hands gently. "Don't we leave here and go find something to do?"

He looked at her as if she'd just sprouted another head.

"What do you mean? We can't leave here, Mulan, you know that."

"Oh, please, nobody has to know. Plus, it's not like we're skipping out on training, or anything."

Shang fidgeted uneasily. "Where would we even go?"

"There's a village only a mile or two from here. We could go look around there, if you'd like."

"Well..." Shang leaned over Mulan and peered out the tent flap, trying to see if anyone was still awake. Some of the men still had lanterns on, but everyone was inside of their tents for the night. Shang made sure to look at Chi Fu's tent, which was dark and sealed. He sat back down and sighed.

"Okay, okay, let's go. But nobody can know, okay?" He asked her. She giggled with excitement in return and nodded her head.

The pair snuck out of the tent slowly, quietly heading over to the stables. They'd decided to just ride Shang's stallion together, so they both started to lead the horse off of the campgrounds before mounting him and riding towards the village. Once they were out of earshot, Mulan laughed. She didn't think that Shang could ever be spontaneous enough to do something like this.

"This is going to be so fun!" She laughed, holding onto him tightly as they rode through the night. He rolled his eyes and smirked, though she couldn't see it.

They arrived rather quickly. Shang dismounted the horse and left her on the saddle while he tied up his stallion. He then offered his hand to her with a smile and she took it, hopping off of the horse.

They walked towards the lit up village hand-in-hand, smiling at one another. The village was very lively in it's appearance; there were different clerks still out with stands selling food, plants, and the likes. There were people dancing and children playing. It was a bit strange for the hour, but neither one of them really took it to mind. There were games and a parade of fire dancers lining the street. The whole place was honestly lovely, and Mulan and Shang were both glad to be there.

Mulan smiled up at him. "So, what do you want to do? It looks as if there's a festival of some sort going on."

"Maybe," He shrugged, "Or it's just a much more fun village than the ones we grew up in." He smiled back at her.

"I wouldn't mind getting some food, honestly." He said, after a short pause. "I'm pretty tired of just rice at camp."

She nodded in agreement and walked over to one of the food stands with him. The one that they stopped at in particular had a vast assortment of beef, pork, fish, and chicken. It smelled absolutely delicious, they had both agreed. Mulan got the attention of the young lady behind the counter, who smiled at them. Shang bought food for both of them, prompting Mulan to gently place a kiss on his cheek once they had left the stand.

They sat down at a table next to all of the people dancing. As they began to eat their food, Mulan started to make conversation.

"Isn't this fun?"

"Yes. I'll have to admit that spending time here with you has been the most fun I've had since we've been away from home."

"See? Breaking the rules can pay off sometimes."

"I've known that since _you_ broke the rules and joined the army, Mulan." He laughed.

They watched the people twirl around the dance floor, jumping and spinning. Mulan eyed Shang as they ate, wondering if he even knew how to dance. She laughed to herself as she thought of Shang dancing, stumbling all over everybody's feet.

"What's so funny?" He asked, smirking at her.

"Nothing, nothing." She said, laughing still. He raised an eyebrow, but kept a smile on his face.

"I don't think it's _nothing_."

"Well..." She paused. "Do you even know _how_ to dance?"

"Of course I do." He paused. "Why wouldn't you think so?"

She laughed. "Well, I don't know, I can't imagine the big, strong general dancing."

He smirked and took her hand, taking her out to the dance floor. He started dancing just as well as the other couples, except for a couple of slip ups. Soon enough, though, the two were twirling just like the others. They kept a steady pace with him leading, much to Mulan's surprise.

"Where did you learn to dance?" She asked him, laughing as he spun her around.

"Don't think that women are the only ones who need any skill for courting, Mulan," was all he said. She laughed even more, stepping slightly closer to him as they danced together.

They were on the dance floor far later than many of the other couples were, still just as into the dance as they were when they started. When they finally slowed down, Shang's arms were around her waist, holding her close. They still hadn't been able to share their first real kiss. Each time he'd try, something would always get into the way. With each day that he had to wait, he only got more and more tempted to swoop her up and kiss her passionately in front of every single recruit at camp. But he couldn't do that. Chi Fu might have a stroke.

Since they weren't at the camp, however, he couldn't come up with a reason not to kiss her as he had wanted to. The atmosphere was very intimate, and it was a perfect time. He stared at her as he pondered, prompting her to look back at him confusedly.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"It's... Nothing, Mulan." He paused. "I'm so lucky to have you, Mulan. I'm so happy to be with you right now, even if we're breaking the rules."

She smiled at him. "I'm glad to be with you, too. I wish we could just stay here instead of going back."

"Agreed." He said, leaning in. He could hear his heart beating in his ears at this point, but he didn't stop himself. He leaned in even further, his nose touching hers and their lips not an inch apart.

"Of all the things I could have seen, I didn't think it would be the general courting one of his comrades."

He stopped, leaving Mulan confused as she opened her eyes. They looked back and saw Chi Fu behind them, accompanied by two strong men.

At this point, Chi Fu wasn't interrupting anything except for Mulan and Shang's moment. The vendors had all packed up, and the couples had all gone home. He stared them down, waiting for an explanation.

"Chi Fu, we-" Mulan started.

"None of that." He slapped her wrist. Shang's eyes widened and he immediately threw himself at Chi Fu.

The scrawny man, however, quickly took out a dagger and cut Shang across the chest. It was not deep, but it was definitely painful. Shang and Mulan were both surprised, neither of them even thinking about trying to attack again out of pure shock.

"Don't underestimate me, General." He gestured to the men behind him, who quickly hit Mulan on the head with the hilt of his sword. She fell to the floor, unconscious. Shang was about to jump at him once more, intent on killing him this time, before he was knocked out as well.

* * *

The next morning, Chien Po, Yao, and Ling were all awoken early by a frantic Wen Fan.

"Where the _hell_ is Mulan?!" He burst into their tent, yelling.

As they groggily woke up, they would have reprimanded him if not for the concern for their friend.

"What do you mean, Wen Fan?" Asked Ling, tiredly. She's probably asleep.

Fan shook his head. "She's always up by now. When she wasn't awake, I started getting worried. I looked inside of her tent, and-"

"You looked inside of her tent without permission?" Asked Yao. "If Chi Fu had caught you..."

"She wasn't there!" Fan continued, too afraid for a lecture.

"Have you looked around the rest of the camp?" Chien Po suggested. "Have you told the general?"

"He's gone as well! So is Chi Fu."

The gang of three all exchanged glances. If just Shang and Mulan were gone, the three would know exactly what had happened. However, with Chi Fu gone, something mysterious was surely going on.

When the rest of the recruits woke up, the three officers told them the news and postponed the training for the day, hoping to figure out where Mulan and Shang had gone. Wen Fan was persistent in begging to help them. With some convincing, he was finally allowed to help Ling, Yao, and Chien Po figure out what had went wrong.

The four had paid a messenger a very high price to deliver a letter to the Emperor, explaining their predicament. As they waited for it to arrive to him, they all wondered what in the world had happened to their friends.

* * *

Mulan woke up with a start, only to notice that she was tied to a pole by rope. She tried to shimmy out, however she noticed that the ropes had been tied by someone with experience. The more she struggled, the tighter the restraints would get. She gave up, finally, and looked around, only to find Shang right next to her. He was still asleep, tied up in the same manner as she was. They were in some kind of tent, but she couldn't tell where.

Mulan moved to the side as much as she could, nudging Shang's shoulder repeatedly. He finally woke up, confused.

"Mulan?" He asked, looking at her. He noticed her restraints and tried to reach out to her, only to realize that he was restrained as well. He cursed and sighed.

As he was about to open his mouth, the tent flap opened.

"Hello, General." A hoarse voice said.

Their jaws immediately dropped.

* * *

 **A/N:** Dun dun dunn! Who could that be?

Thanks so much for reading the chapter! I'll try and update as soon as I can, but it probably won't be for another couple of weeks, sorry :(

Anyways, thanks again, and please review! As always, I love hearing from all of you! :)

Thank you!


	11. Yellow Turbans

Hey! Thank you guys so much for being patient with me! School is just a lot of work, and I can't update as often as I could over the summer.

57 Reviews! Thank you guys so much for reviewing (and even if you prefer to be quiet I thank you as well!) and giving me feedback on the story, I really love hearing all about whether you like or dislike my story so far!

I'm going to try and make this a long chapter, but I honestly don't know how well that's going to work out... However, if I feel that it's shorter than the others, the next update will come quickly, I promise. Also, this chapter may get slightly dark- which, other than the swearing, is why this is rated T. This chapter is also going to begin a story arc based (VERY) loosely on history. I'm going to include a paragraph here, and a more in-depth paragraph at the end of the story explaining said history.

 _Brief Background:_ I'm not exactly sure when Mulan takes place; the movie is very vague, stating that the Great Wall had just been built. However, the Great Wall was built during the Qin dynasty; a point in time when China was ruled by Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Emperor Qin, however, followed the legalist philosophy and ruled China as an autocratic empire (think of him as a modern-day dictator, almost). That being said, I _highly_ doubt that the emperor in the Mulan movie is supposed to be Emperor Qin. That rules out the fact that the movie takes place in the Qin dynasty, so I'm going to make the story take place during the Han dynasty, even though there are other parts of the movie which contradict this time period as well. Honestly, the movie contradicts itself, saying that the wall had just been built, and then using fireworks (a Tang dynasty invention) later in the movie.

So please, bear with me, and just imagine that this story takes place towards the end of the Han dynasty.

As always, thanks for reading! Here's the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mulan.

* * *

Chapter 10: Yellow Turbans

* * *

Wen Fan was a good man. Even as he walked outside of his tent and saw Mulan and Shang leaving the camp hand-in-hand, he had kept quiet. Of course he was jealous - who wouldn't be? The girl he'd been friends with since he could hardly walk had grown up into a beautiful young lady, and now she was falling in love and running off with strange men. Fan had admitted to himself that he'd always had a fondness for Mulan that was more than friendship. As a child, it had never occurred to him. The idea of romance didn't concern him, then. However, through adolescence he began to notice the way she would nonchalantly tuck strands of hair behind her ears, or the way she'd purse her lips while thinking.

He had never thought that he "liked" Mulan. It didn't sound nor feel right to him. His affection towards her was deeper, but he didn't know if it was "love." Of course he loved her in a familial sense. He had since he was six years old and she had helped him cope with his mother's sudden death. However, he couldn't decide if what he felt for her was truly romantic love. Many sleepless nights had taken their toll on him but he didn't care. He preferred to spend his nights with the thoughts rather than being inattentive during the day. There were times, though, when the night had brought dreams of her to his head. Nothing explicit, but rather intimate moments with her. Many times during his nights, his head had replayed scenes of his life which involved her. He remembered how she held him in the rain on the last day he'd ever see his mother, or the time the other village children had dared them to kiss each other. At the time, Fan nor Mulan thought anything of it. Fan guessed that Mulan can't even remember that day.

He'd always loved her in a sense that what she wanted came before his needs. That's why he was afraid to say he loved her; he was scared that what she'd want wouldn't be him. After staying at Wu Zhong and being able to observe her behavior around the general, he'd realized that she'd definitely want something different, and that he would have to learn to be okay with that. However, he wasn't sure what he felt about Li Shang. He was handsome, tall, and muscular. But he didn't know if he truly loved Mulan or not. However, Fan wasn't an idiot, and was able to tell that Shang was being particularly hostile towards him. If that was the case, Fan realized that he must love Mulan if he's jealous.

Much like Shang, Fan's honor was important to him. He wouldn't allow himself to force anyone to do something he wanted, much less Mulan. Ever since he was a child he'd been aware that she was stubborn, and even an enigma. He knew that she wouldn't be afraid to speak her mind if she didn't want the same things he wanted. He didn't want to risk losing her friendship- It was the most important relationship he's ever had with anyone in his life, possibly even above the relationship he had with his father, and that he had had with his mother in his early years.

As he tossed and turn in bed that night, thinking over things that he had relayed to himself countless times, he had assumed that Mulan would be back at the camp in the morning.

* * *

As Fan got out of his tent the next morning, after about forty minutes of sleep the previous night, he searched for Mulan. He was thankful that she was at least there at the camp with him. They had agreed to have a morning rendez-vous each morning, just to catch up and have general conversation with one another. Fan wasn't hesitant to admit that it was his favorite part of being at Wu Zhong.

As he looked for her in their usual meeting spot, he wasn't worried at the fact that she wasn't there yet. She was probably sleeping in for a few minutes, since she had probably gotten back late last night. However, after waiting for thirty minutes, he was starting to get worried. Training would start soon, and she'd have to be up even if they weren't going to meet up that morning. He walked over to her tent and called her name a few times, not receiving any reply. He gently opened her tent flap, only to discover that she wasn't there. Had she slept with the general?

He marched over to Shang's tent, anger evident in his eyes. He would have barged in there if he could, however he didn't want to walk in on an awkward situation, nor get a reprimanding from the general. He called his title, however he also didn't receive a response. As he opened the tent flap and discovered that Shang was nowhere to be found, he noticed a yellow band of cloth on the ground. Finding it rather odd, he picked it up and brought it with him around the camp to search for the pair. The rest of the officers had gotten up already, so Fan decided to ask them if they knew anything.

As he approached the trio, he saluted. Unlike Shang, the officers were very fair and even friendly towards him.

"Officers, have you seen the general?"

The largest of the three shook his head. "He usually calls us into his tent in the morning. I haven't seen him, Chi Fu, nor Mulan."

Fan hesitated for a moment. "I have to talk to you guys."

* * *

Mushu awoke from his sleep in Mulan's tent. He rubbed his eyes, surprised that Mulan was already out. He and Cri-kee left the tent to find her. After searching for half an hour, they couldn't find her anywhere.

"Where's that girl run off too?" Mushu asked the cricket, who just shrugged.

Mushu decided to look around for her, following a very similar path that Fan had when he was looking for her. The small dragon couldn't find anyone close to Mulan except for the gang of three and Wen Fan. He decided to follow them away from the other recruits.

"I've been checking everywhere for her all morning." He heard Wen Fan explain, "I checked her tent, General Li's tent, and then I found you three." Fan sat down on a rock, followed by Yao, Ling, and Chien Po.

"But..." He continued, "Last night I saw Mulan and General Li run off somewhere outside of camp." He admitted. The three gasped, awfully surprised that General Li would ever leave the camp without telling anyone. They figured that it was probably Mulan's influence.

Fan pulled out the yellow cloth, which he had been keeping in his sash. "I found this in General Li's tent."

Yao took the cloth from him, studying it with his good eye. "What is it?"

"I don't know." Answered Fan. They looked at it more and more, Mushu watching intently. He'd seen the thing before- It belonged to Chi Fu. He had kept it with him in his saddlebags.

Mushu desperately wanted to tell them that he knew what the strange object was, but didn't know how to reveal himself. He watched them a little while longer and realized that the four would never figure out the mystery on their own. Reluctantly, Mushu took a step closer to them, crawling in front of them but not yet saying a word. Immediately, Ling's eyes grew large as he saw Mushu.

" _The snake is back!"_ He yelled, clinging to Yao. Yao merely hit him, causing Ling to faceplant onto the ground. Mushu sighed and looked towards Ling.

"I'm _not_ a snake." Mushu said. The men looked surprised at the fact that he could even communicate, but let him continue.

"I'm a _dragon."_ He stated. "I'm Mulan's guardian."

Wen Fan immediately moved closer to Mushu. "Do you know where she is?!" He asked frantically, causing the gang of three to glance at each other quizzically.

"I don't, but I know that that yellow cloth belongs to that _nasty_ Chi Fu."

"Why would he be in Sha- General Li's tent?" Asked Ling, clearing his throat. "He and the general only ever meet in Chi Fu's tent. He'd have no reason to be in there."

"Then why don't we investigate a bit," asked Mushu. "With the five of us helping, we're bound to find her.

The rest of them agreed to begin searching that afternoon, and started training the recruits for the day.

* * *

When Mulan and Shang awoke after they'd been knocked out, they were more surprised than they could comprehend.

Standing before them was the late General Li, wearing a strange yellow cloth around his head. Chi Fu stood behind him, however he had no yellow scarf.

"Father?" Asked Shang, not even knowing how he was feeling at the moment. "What is this? How are you alive?"

"Do you take me for an idiot, son?" He asked. "There was no way my troops would have been able to stop the Huns at the pass. I wasn't there for the battle."

"Then who was leading your troops?" Asked the younger General Li. "What is this?" He demanded once again.

"I had an officer carry out the orders. He wasn't that important." In all of his twenty years, Shang had never seen his father act so cruel.

"What is this?" This time, Mulan asked the question. Shang's father eyed her suspiciously.

"Fa Mulan, I remember meeting you as a girl." He chuckled to himself, moving closer to her.

"You've grown up into such an _exquisite_ young lady." He put a finger under her chin, making her spine tingle.

"Father, don't touch her." Shang said, using the largest amount of hostility he ever had towards his father.

"Why not?" He asked, turning to his son. "It's not like you haven't, after all." Shang's eyes burned with rage.

"What are you doing? Why have you captured us?" Shang asked him.

"Well you would never come to us on your own." He said, turning back to face both of them.

"Us?" Asked Mulan.

He nodded at her. "We are an... Organization, if you will, which wants to take control of the throne, and of China."

"So, rebels?" Asked Mulan.

"She's a smart one." General Li said, rather sarcastically. Shang glared at him.

"Anyways, who better than China's two greatest heroes could help us?"

"Are you trying to force us?" Shang asked, his expression an incredulous one.

"Of course. Wouldn't you help your dear father, my son?"

Shang immediately realized what his father was trying to do, if he could even call him that anymore. He just wanted to guilt trip the two of them. Shang wasn't stupid- He wouldn't fall for that.

"How does a military officer of over twenty-five years suddenly convert to a rebel?" Shang asked, not bothering to answer his father's request.

"Shang, you naive man. I've always had my doubts about the Han emperors. Twenty-five years is just the amount of time it took me to realize that I couldn't do it any longer.

"You've both been to war - You've seen the casualties of many men and women, I'm sure. Many of whom weren't even supposed to be involved in the war." They couldn't disagree. Seeing the burned village had left an imprint on both of their minds.

"And I'm sure you're aware that many of the soldiers who do receive casualties are too poor to even pay for medical assistance. It's truly ruthless."

Mulan and Shang had no response to this. They knew of such issues occurring plenty of times. There was a pause before Shang, who wanted to change the subjext, spoke up once again.

"What about the Huns? Are they aware of a rebellion stirring?"

"Huns?" His father asked. "There are no Huns."

Shang and Mulan looked at him quizzically. They'd been training for the last few months for Hun spies.

"It's not like it was hard creating the ruse. I still know very much about how the Chinese government and military work, Li Shang. Not to mention, we have Chi Fu on our side. He's Emperor Ling's most trusted adviser, after all."

"It was fake," Mulan whispered to herself. All of the fear they'd been feeling wasn't even real.

"What do you want from us?" Asked Shang. "We're not joining you."

"How could you not, son? I even extended the invitation to- forgive me if I am mistaken- my future daughter-in-law." Shang rolled his eyes as the older man smirked at him.

"What if we _don't_ join you?" Asked Shang, after a short period of silence.

"Then we'll let you go back to Wu Zhong, along with Chi Fu."

"You'll just allow us to go back?" Mulan asked him, dumbfounded.

"It would be suspicious, if not." He said, nonchalantly.

"However," he added, "Chi Fu will be there to make sure that you do not say a word about us, or what we plan to do."

The former General then pulled out a small knife, cutting their ropes free. Mulan and Shang both rubbed their wrists, which had felt raw under the ropes.

"What is it going to be, heroes of China?" He asked them, a malicious glint in his eyes.

"I believe I am speaking for both of us, sir, when I say that we will do whatever it takes to protect our country, even if it means going against your wishes."

Shang's father hesitated. "Then so it begins." He glared at each of them, his expression as cold as stone. "You have just made very powerful enemies. You have no idea how large our forces are already becoming. Beware." He said. He glanced at the two burly men who had captured them before.

"Do it once more, men."

With that final note, they were knocked out once again. Their unconscious bodies were loaded into the back of a cart, which Chi Fu drove back towards the camp.

On the bumpy trail, Mulan had awoken with a start. Shang still lay unconscious next to her. She sat up slowly; her head was pounding. As she realized that they were moving, Mulan looked around to see if there was a window of any sort. However, there was only a dying lantern where they were situated. She had no idea what time of day it even was.

Shang awoke soon after she did, immediately concerned for her. After making sure that she was okay, Shang lied back down and covered his face with his hands.

It was at that moment that Mulan realized how much this whole situation must have affected Shang's emotions. The man he'd admired most since he was a child had turned out to be the person they'd been training to assassinate for the last two months. After believing he was dead, he found out that his father was alive, but against him. His father had never died; Shang would have to carry out the deed himself.

Mulan decided to lay down next to him and sighed, gently leaning her head on his shoulder. Very lightly, she could feel him shaking. Was he crying?

She very gently touched one of his hands with her fingertips, moving it to the side. The lantern wasn't giving off much light, but she could still see the glint of teardrops falling from his eyes. She pouted and wrapped her arms around him, and he clung to her like he never had before.

It wasn't the time for words right then. They both knew that as he silently sobbed into her shoulder. They had a new battle for now; words could come later.

* * *

By the end of that day's training session, Mulan, Shang, and Chi Fu had already arrived at the camp. When they were asked where they'd been, Chi Fu eyed them suspiciously. Mulan and Shang quickly glanced at each other before Mulan said that they had urgent business to attend to at the Imperial City, and that they'd had to leave late last night. Luckily, everyone seemed to have bought their story. Thankfully, they weren't asked any more questions, and they had time to themselves. Mulan and Shang both needed some alone time, so they each went to their respective tents for the time being.

* * *

 **A/N: The Yellow Turban Rebellion:** (I won't write a complete essay on the rebellion, though I will just give some background after each chapter).

The Yellow Turban Rebellion took place from 184-205 CE, during the Han Dynasty in China. It took place under the rule of Emperor Ling. The name comes from the yellow scarves and cloths that the rebels wore on their heads during said rebellion. The rebellion was started by three brothers, Zhang Jue (known by his followers as the General of Heaven), Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang. The three were very generous Taoist medics, who accepted patients who could not afford to pay for their medical expenses. The brothers had realized that the government had made their patients underfunded due to large tax amounts placed on them.

The three had founded a Taoist sect known as the "Way of Supreme Peace." As medics, they were easily able to spread their beliefs through their patients.

The rebel forces were grouped in three main places: The group lead by the three Zhang brothers was heavily supported by the region north of the Huang He (Yellow) river. Another uprising took place in the You province, in what is now Beijing. Finally, yet another rising took place inside of the three regions known as Yingchuan, Runan, and Nanyang.

The reason the story arc is only loosely based on history is the fact that the actual Yellow Turban Rebellion was started by peasants, rather than a general and political adviser. Also, the rebellion lasted nearly thirty years, however this won't go on nearly as long. If you'd like, definitely read up on this! I completely apologize if there are any historical mistakes - I haven't learned about ancient China in two years.

Anyways, please tell me how you liked the chapter with some reviews! I'd highly appreciate it! :) As always, thank you so much for reading! Until next time!


	12. An eight month late explanation

I think it's fair to say that I owe everyone reading this an explanation, and then an apology.

I'm going to make this short and sweet - I grew up. I lost interest in writing this (and definitely in Mulan). I lost the drive to write, I had made some additions to the plot that I deeply regretted, and I just got busy. I think that things really started to pick up in the last 10-ish months, and writing a Fanfiction has been last on my list of priorities. I got a job, made solid friends, I'm taking high school a lot more seriously, I'm more confident in myself, I have a boyfriend, and life is pretty good. Honestly, I wrote this story during a period of depression for me, and I think I wrote it just to give myself a hobby. I'm (thankfully) out of that low point in my life. Things aren't perfect, but they are definitely getting there.

Now, the hard part.

I am so sorry to those of you who have been waiting for this story update. For those of you who still follow and favorite this story to this day. I left this story without thinking about the people who really made this whole experience worth it. I guess I just didn't realize how much people liked this story until I got a PM the other day from someone asking where I'd gone, and saying that they didn't want me to give up on the story. But here's the thing. If I had continued this story without the heart that I had put into the first, say, 8 chapters, it would have been - excuse me - absolute shit. I am happy that I left this story with a mediocre middle rather than with a rushed, underdeveloped, god awful ending. It just wouldn't be right.

So, to those of you who stuck with me while I was writing this story, thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'd say it a million times if I could, but I can't, so let's just say that each 'thank you' represents 250,000 'thank you''s.

You guys made this experience worth it. If it weren't for you reviewing and reading and following and favoriting this story, I wouldn't have uploaded two chapters, let alone eleven.

Do I regret writing this story? Overall, no. It helped me strengthen my writing skills, gave me something to do, and most importantly, it gave something for people all over the world to enjoy. The fact that this story was read so many times by so many people in so many places is truly mind-blowing. I just hope that I gave you guys something to enjoy when the time was right.

Finally, I've decided to leave this story up, in case anyone wants to read it in the future for any reason. If anyone reading this wants to PM me, this account is still hooked up to my email, so I will try to get back to you ASAP, though that may not be as quickly as it would have been a year ago. I'm still completely open to just chatting, or answering any questions!

So, to everyone who is reading this, I'd like to say one final thank you, though this thank you represents infinite thank you's.

Thanks guys,

Kat (Katie)


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